Autumn Hazard
by spiritaways
Summary: Being a witness and targeted is no fun for the young Fujimiya Ran. Another Crawford/Ran story in AU universe. Probably OOC all the way. Gomen!
1. Prologue

Title: Autumn Hazard  
Fandom: Weiss Kreuz 

**Timeline : AU**

Disclaimer : Belong to WK Project, never ever mine

Prologue 

The cool wind of the mid autumn evening did not hinder him from enjoying the waterscape sceneries presented in front of him. He merely stood there in awe, breathing the fresh crispy air in and out in satisfaction, smiling at the swirling gold and russets and lavenders and crimsons leaves as the wind blew and the rustling leaves sounded like a music symphony in his ears.

He loved autumn. He loved everything about this particular season. The changing colors, the landscapes, the air, the ambience and the tranquility of this time of the year.

Ran eyes wandered to the lake. He could see the sun almost set and an evening fog began to roll across the water. The reflection of the colorful mid autumn leaves of the calm water was fascinating. On the other side, at the bank of the lake, stood a few old momiji trees that leaned wearily against the lake, a few branches almost falling over so that their leaves touched the calm water.

Ran was sitting near the edge of the water and he could see the reflection of himself. Ran studied his face. He was not a handsome and gallant guy but more towards elegantly pretty. People never mistook him for a woman. They knew he was one hundred per cent male, well, the Adam's apple gave it away but some men were perverted enough that he never escaped the chance of being groped whenever he was in a congested and crowded public place.

Ran didn't like to be called pretty, it made him sound girlish but he could not deny that he had that look of elegance. _He laughed and felt like a narcissist_. With his rich blood-red hair and deep violet eyes and porcelain-like skin, he knew he looked almost like a doll when he was standing still. Ran clicked his tongue in annoyance. That's what always happened when he and his sister went to Department Store for shopping. He would stand motionless in a corner and some female departmental store worker would try to carry him thinking that he was a mannequin or naughty children would poke at him. Worse, some men would stand right in front of him, admiring his, what they liked to call exotic, looks.

He was seventeen, and was in his third year at St Agnes. He was active in most of the clubs, but his favorites were his book-club and his kendo. He had even made it as a Captain for both clubs and though he looked frail, adversaries from other clubs knew his abilities in kendo, because once he swung his shinai, his strength deceived his frail looking body. He was even nicknamed 'Demon Orchid' among his kendo opponents.

Ran sighed and rested his head on one of the rocks listening to nothing, closing his eyes.

Sometimes he enjoyed his parents impromptu plans. It was not a school holiday but since Ran's grades were good, his father had asked if he could take at least a week off from school to be with his family. It was not often that his parents could bring him and his sister together to meet their grandparents who had decided to stay in Minamiyamashiro. It was a very peaceful village, surrounded by mountains and lakes. And in autumn, the splurging colors of the momiji leaves turned the village into a breathtaking view, like a painting that he once saw in his father's office. He took out his digital camera, the one that his parents had bought for him as last year's birthday gift, searching for the right angle to snap.

Ran loved to come here, it was a quiet place, where nothing happened that gave him a peace of mind that the hustle-bustle of people shouting, tires screeching, honking in the city never could.

There was a tiny cave that he remembered from when he was three years old. His grandfather showed it to him. They never went near the cave but the old man told him that when the water rose, half of the cave would be drowned under the water leaving the other half of the entrance surfaced. His grandfather will told him that the cave looked like an old man's head, except that the hair was green.

Ran loved watching the cave and listening to the 'slosh' sound made by the tiny waves whenever the tide of lake was high. He wondered if the cave was still there, or if the fifteen years had eroded it.

He smiled to himself again, tucking the unruly eartails behind his ears as he walked along the small trail towards the cave. He loved stepping on the dried leaves on the ground, and it somehow gave him a sense of pure happiness listening to the crunching sounds underneath his feet.

He looked up at the sky; it was going to be dark soon so he quickened his pace. When he almost reached to where the cave was located, his steps halted when he heard voices, almost like whispers. Curious, he moved quietly among the trees trying to find the source of the voices and saw three suspicious looking men wearing cheap versions of the raincoat that the killer wore in the movie Urban Legends, that he had seen three weeks earlier.

He watched them, arguing over something and his eyes lingered at the feet of where the men were standing. In his life, he had never before seen what was being done that day. It was something that he read in the newspapers, something that happened far away in another place, in another world, maybe, but not here, in this peaceful village.

He saw another figure squatting down, holding something that looked like a knife but Ran knew it was not an ordinary kitchen knife, like those that his mother had at home. It was a knife that was made to cut to the bones… _It's not hunting season_. Ran thought. _And what could they be hunting at the moment? _But what he did not expect to see was that the squatting figure was slicing another figure that was lying still on the ground. _A human. No!_ He shook his head. There were two figures on the ground.

Ran quickly pulled his hands towards his mouth to prevent himself from gasping out loud. He felt drowsy and almost as if he would vomit, he was desperately trying not to panic and scream, because he knew if he did, they would know that he was there and if they knew…. He began to panic and automatically took few steps backwards when he heard a snap. The familiar sound of a small branch being broken in two.

"Ah!" He cursed silently. When he looked up again he saw that the men were looking in his direction. Six pair of eyes were looking his way. It was too late too hide and he saw their faces and he was sure that they saw his too. He stood there, stunned for a moment when he realized the men were moving towards him. Snapping out of the trance, and with adrenaline charging in his veins, Ran turned and sprinted towards his grandparent's house without even a single glance back.

AN: This is my very first entry for a weissnovella challenge in LJ and also my very first entry in any writing challenge. (The very reason why I got stuck with Borderline grin since I used up all my energy to finish this one. I promised this one is truly finished, though I wonder if its good enough to post. Anyway, I do hope everyone enjoys it though a little.)

I would like to express my very thanks to minimorr as my beta! hugs


	2. Chapter 1

AN: Thank you for the reviews. I try to update everyday or every 2 -3 days. Disclaimers: Crawford & Aya if they were mine…… (insert maniacal laughter here) Chapter 1 

The American was tall, about 6' 1". He had extremely powerful looking arms and shoulders, a sharp handsome face framed by neatly combed black hair. His eyes, a golden brown, looked cold underneath the tinted glasses he was wearing. The American was wearing a light yellow suit with light teal-colored tie.

He was busy listening to one of the uniformed men and therefore he did not realize that someone was sidling up beside him.

"Hey, is that you, Crawford?" He heard the voice drawl.

Almost sighing, he turned to look at the owner of the voice, a German, about 5' 9". He looked more roguish, and some people said that he had a weird fashion sense. He was dressed in long forest green double-breasted trench coat with white pants and shoes, His unruly orange hair was tied back with a yellow bandana, accentuated with sunglasses that were perched on the top. From the way he spoke, he seemed arrogant, over-confident and most likely loud, which was the complete opposite of Crawford who looked more professional, calm and serious.

The German flashed his badge towards another uniform standing behind the yellow line and turned his attention to the older man. "It's been a long time since we a case together," he chirped.

"Two months is not a long time."

"Ah! I'm wounded. You didn't miss me." Schuldig said almost pouting. "Whatever happened to our pledge of sharing knowledge, skills, best practices and...?" He was cut off when he saw two men approaching and his expression turned serious.

"I'm Yoshiaki Naoe and this is Takaya Chiaki, Osaka's main Police Headquarters. Hope we can work together." He bowed and raised his hand for a shake.

Crawford automatically responded and shook both men's hands. "I'm Crawford, Brad Crawford."

"I'm Schuldig, and we both are stationed here by Interpol, in the Tokyo sub-bureau from the Headquarters." He extended his hand and flashed his brilliant smile at the two uniformed men.

"So, what do we have here behind the yellow line? I thought our work focuses primarily on public safety, terrorism, organized crime, war crimes, illicit drug production, drug trafficking, weapons smuggling, trafficking in human beings, money laundering, child pornography, white-collar crime, computer crime, Intellectual Property crime and corruption." He said, counting on his fingers as he talked and grinned at Crawford.

Crawford almost rolled his eyes and turned his serious face towards the two high- ranking police officers. He was immune to Schuldig's antics. If the other Interpol officer from the Japan branch had something to say, he merely kept quiet and diverted his eyes to the bodies lying on the ground.

"Three bodies, two of them were on the ground and one was found near the cave, stuck between the branches," the one called Naoe explained. "One of the villagers found them and alerted the local police. One of the victims is on the Interpol website, wanted for human trafficking. I recognized his face and called the Interpol sub-bureau in Tokyo. So, does this count into your work focus? I am sure you guys would be willing to work together with us and help us out here, although we would prefer it if you knew when and where not to get in the way of our jurisdiction."

Crawford nodded curtly. "Mind showing us the bodies?"

"Be my guest." He stood aside, letting Schuldig walk past him. Crawford merely stood beside the Inspector, careful to stay behind the yellow line, and stared at the crime scene techs that arrived few minutes later, lugging their cases on a small dolly.

Schuldig, on the other hand, had slipped under the no crossing line, taking out something that looked like a rubber band from the outer breast pocket of his jacket, tying his unruly hair. The night wind had began to pick up its pace and small leaves were starting to fly away.

One of the crime scene tech took out a glove from one of the compartments in their cases and handed it to him. Schuldig took the glove, saying thank you while putting it on, squatting down to look at the pair of bodies slumped on the ground.

Two divers suddenly emerged from the calm waters, pulling something which Crawford suspected was the third body.

Crawford looked up at the surroundings and noticed that this place must have beautiful scenery in the broad daylight. At the moment, the scene was flooded by red and blue blinking lights from the patrol cars and few spotlights that were set up to let the divers, coroners and the crime scene techs do their thing.

After a few moments, Schuldig got up, and squatted down again by the next body, taking out a small notebook that he always carried with him and began to take notes, looking almost thoughtful and serious, quite unlike his earlier attitude, before sliding it back into his other pocket. He stood there for a few minutes and Crawford knew that he was waiting for the divers to bring up the next body. Chiaki was already beside him, shouting orders for the divers to look for any potential weapon.

Finally, the divers retrieved the body out of the lake. The coroner was busy taking the liver temperature to determine the time of death.

Crawford saw another man, dressed in a faded mountain hakama, a traditional dress worn by forest workers. They were much looser in the waist and narrower in the leg than a normal hakama. The man was standing restlessly beside one of the uniformed men that had responded to his call. The uniform gave him hot coffee to drink. Crawford knew that the man was shaking badly as he hissed when the hot coffee spilled on his fingers. The man was stuttering when the police officer questioned him and began to tremble even more violently than before.

"One of the villagers. The one who found them." He heard Naoe talking to no one in particular. Crawford assumed that he was talking to him. "Poor man." He continued. "After he realized what was floating in the lake, he jumped off the boat, swam to the bank, ran only to stumble on the two bodies and fall right on top of or between them. I think he saw what had been done to the bodies because we found vomit. I suspect that it was his."

"Where was he going?"

"To the nearest house. About a mile away.' Naoe explained. "It's a small quiet village, where everyone knows everyone. He was running towards a house that belongs to old couple who moved here from Tokyo years ago. Their son, married, still lives in Tokyo"

Crawford nodded again.

"It will be nice to meet and talk to them. See if they heard or noticed anything suspicious that can help us. But I thought of settling this crime scene first, remove the bodies. It's almost ten pm."

He then turned to face Crawford. "Are you coming with me to the hospital, at least to know the exact cause of death?"

Crawford remained silent for a few seconds before he decided to answer. "No, I will just appreciate it if you could at least confirm the identities of the bodies, especially the one you said had a resemblance to the one on the most wanted man list. You can reach me with this number." He handed Naoe his business card.

Schuldig had finished whatever he was doing and gave a silent signal to Crawford to retreat from the scene towards their car.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

He was desperately trying to return to his daily routine life; wake up, brush teeth, take a bath and go to school. However, lately, even if he was taking an afternoon nap, his sleep was plagued with unbearable nightmares. He dreamt of the forest at his grandfather's place, of unknown faces, crumpled bodies and sharp knives. He would wake up with an impending headache, his body shaking all over from the tip of his fingers to the tip of his toes, his bed was damp from his sweat and his pillow was drenched with tears.

He got out of bed, pulling the sheets together, taking out his pillow case, folding them neatly before putting it the laundry basket. He stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom and his hand mechanically reached for his toothbrush.

_Get a hold of yourself. It's nothing but terrible nightmares. _Ran tried to convince himself. It had been two days since that day and he had been constantly watching TV and listening to the radio and flipping through the newspapers trying to see, listen or read about any news. He knew that if the Police found out about him, they would search for him and ask for his co-operation but Ran knew he would not be of any help at all. Although he seen the faces, he wouldn't have recognized them for the identification. He had been locking himself in the house, ordering most groceries online; weary of anything or anyone that came near the house. But two days had passed, nothing had happened, no one had knocked on his door…. And no sharp object suddenly appeared to impale him to keep his mouth shut from telling of what he had seen.

He turned to look at the watch on his bedroom wall. Today he had to go to school and he had an hour to get ready. He quickly took a bath and dried his body, wearing his gakuran uniform and walked towards the kitchen.

He was trying to fix himself a decent breakfast. His parents and sister were still in Osaka. Secretly, he envied them, but his vacation was sullied when he had stumbled into something that he shouldn't have. Ran shook his head, trying to forget the frightening things and focus on preparing the breakfast. He rummaged through his mother's kitchen cabinets and found the frying pan to make an omelet. He placed the pan on the induction stove and took a slice of bread, placing it in the toaster and turned on the coffeemaker.

Ran hissed a little when his hand accidentally touched the pan. He couldn't stop thinking.

He hadn't told anyone what he saw that day. He came back running and panting and locked the door behind him. His parents and grandfather were in the kitchen, he could hear them talking and laughing and his father was telling about Aya's embarrassing moments. He could hear Aya shriek at their father. He walked quietly but hurriedly towards the guestroom where his grandfather had placed him and packed his backpack. His hands were shaking rather violently. His eyes kept looking out of the window, and he almost jumped in fear when he saw someone standing by the gate of his grandfather's lawn but when he looked again there was no one.

He needed to get out from there. He was afraid. Afraid that they might know where he lived and come after him. He could vividly remember the knives and the blood dripping from them and his trembling became more apparent. He took a shaky deep breath and walked out of the room towards the kitchen. He almost screamed when he saw his reflection in the standing mirror and covered his mouth with his hands, puffing.

His father was lifting a chopstick, chatting happily and feeding his sister a chicken teriyaki that grandmother had prepared earlier. Ran licked his lips, he was suddenly hungry but there was no time to eat. He stood still in the doorway.

His father saw Ran looking rather white, as if all blood had been drained from his body. He knew his son had a rather pale complexion, but this was an unhealthy looking skin tone.

"Ran." His father called, but Ran merely stood at the door, unmoving as if he had seen a ghost.

"Ran!" His father called again, louder so that all his family's eyes were on him. Ran blinked.

"What is it, son?" His father asked, putting the chopsticks down. Aya was twirling her hair and their mother was looking at him with an odd expression.

"I..I..." Ran stuttered, swallowed... "I just remembered that I have an unfinished revision in my Calculus-class and I left the book at home," he lied.

His father raised an eyebrow, "We are in Osaka, Ran… Didn't I ask you if you had left anything before we went and you said you hadn't?"

"I know, I'm sorry. I forgot. Would it be okay if you could send me to Osaka's shikansen station? I could take the Nozomi train and reached Tokyo in a couple of hours."

"Now? It's going to get dark soon and I don't want you to go home alone. Boy or no boy. Can't you wait till tomorrow morning?"

He shook his head, He felt guilty lying to his parents but he did not know what else to do. He couldn't stay there. He was afraid. Afraid that they would come and get him at night.

"But Ran-kun, you have just been here for two days. I still haven't got a chance to talk to you about your school or a girlfriend, if there is one." His grandmother interjected.

"I... I'm sorry. I... really need to study this subject."

His father got up, sighed. "All right, wait for me by the car."

Ran nodded sadly and went to hug his grandparents, promised that he would come again during his summer vacation and went to kiss his mother's cheek.

"Are you going to be all right alone at home?" His mother asked, sounded worried. "We will be here at least for another two weeks."

"Don't worry, mother. I can take care of myself."

His mother bobbed her head up and down and hugged her son tightly. "Take care, don't skip your meals and make sure the house is clean."

Ran wanted to cry but he was trying not to. He merely lowered his head and looked at the floor when he heard his father call him from outside. He looked at his grandparents again and his mother and sister, forcing a smile at them and waved.

"See you, Onii-saaaaaan!" He heard Aya shouting.

"See you…" Ran almost whispered. He did not know if he would still be alive and if they would come after him. All he wanted now, if they were looking for him, was that his parents and sister weren't to be involved. He vowed not to let anyone hurt his family.

Ran looked at his food; he had suddenly lost his appetite. He set aside the bread and went to his backpack to search for his student ID, but it was not there. He fumbled through the bag, shuffling through the books and his stationeries and still he could not find it. He did not remember misplacing it. The last time he took out his student card was when he was…

"Shit!" He cursed out loudly. He had put the ID in his camera bag. And he remembered, when he was fumbling from the scene, he had dropped his camera bag. He ran towards his room, looking for the bag and found only his camera in it, but not his card. He blanched. He must have dropped it without realizing. And now he was sure that they knew where he was but they did not act on it. Maybe, they were waiting for the right time. Using the element of surprise when he was least expecting it and then they would… strike.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"What do we have here?" Crawford asked as he walked down the path towards where he had parked his car.

"Ah! Not patient are you? After all, I am the one who did all the dirty work out there," Schuldig answered obstinately.

"Schuldig!"

"Ja… Ja… Two gunshot wounds straight to the head. One in the head of the suspected human trafficker's body, the other in the body that they found in the water. No identification found on either of them. I suspect the one in the water is one of the locals."

"Might be the witness," Crawford said as he unlocked his car and got in.

Schuldig nodded as he opened the door to the passenger seat. "Could be. The other body on the ground beside our wanted list man is a foreigner too. The coroner said that he is sure that this one was, before he was shot in the heart, alive when whoever did it skinned him. I believe he is our wanted man's accomplice and they wanted information."

"Information by using torture… Interesting."

"Where are we going now?"

"To the house that's located about a mile away from the scene."

"But it's already late. Do you think it is proper for us to march into other people's houses at this hour?" Schuldig asked, looking innocent and yet Crawford knew he was excited.

"Information is best to get when it is still fresh." Crawford answered, his glasses gleaming as he said so.

Crawford carefully knocked on the door and he heard a rustle from the inside, sounds of footsteps coming towards the door before it was opened three inches. A sleepy eye peeked out of the crack.

Crawford took out his badge and showed it to the man who opened the door and introduced himself.

The door was now wide open and Crawford could hear more footsteps coming down from the wooden stairs and a sleepy woman, no, a young girl's voice asking her father who it was. Her father, who was standing behind an older man, told his daughter to go back to bed, before asking his father what was going on.

The grandfather just stood there, trying to see what was written on the badge and passed it on to his son. His son then gave it a once over and raised his head.

"Interpol? What do Interpol want knocking at my father's door at this time of night?" The man asked in English.

Crawford noted that the man must be the son, whom Naoe said was from Tokyo. "I can speak Japanese if it's uncomfortable for you to converse in English."

"And we are sorry for barging to your father's house at this hour, but we need to ask if your family knows anything about what happened this evening about a mile away from the house?" Schuldig interrupted from behind and flashed his trademark smile.

They were seated on the long chair in the hall. The older Fujimiya had made coffee and Schuldig was happily sipping the hot drink. It was cold outside and even though he had his green blazer on, it could not keep out the chilling autumn wind. The hot beverage warmed him up. Crawford, on the other hand, looked infallible.

"We know nothing about today, only, this evening one of our neighbors, who stays a few houses away from here, came running to us. He was very frightened," the younger Fujimiya said as his father nodded in acquiescence. "But he did not tell us anything, instead he ran back to his house."

"What happened out there?" His wife suddenly asked.

"Some people were hurt in an unfortunate accident, that's all." Crawford answered firmly.

"Anyway…" Crawford was getting up and extended his hand towards the elder Fujimiya.

"Thank you for your time and again we are sorry for disturbing your family's rest." He said and then walked towards the door signaling to Schuldig with his eyes to get off the comfortable couch to take leave.

"You're welcome."

They were outside in the car when Schuldig suddenly grinned.

"What?" Crawford asked, irritated. He knew that Schuldig was hiding something from him because the German could not stop smirking during the whole time they were in the house.

"Nice people…. " He said out of the blue and started to gave Crawford another grin that he knew would annoy the older man, "You knoooow, while I was trudging through the trees at the scene just now, I couldn't help but pocketing something that I found interesting."

Crawford raised his eyebrows.

"They omitted one part though," he said suddenly.

"I know," Crawford answered.

"They forget to mention how pale their eldest son was when he suddenly came back from his evening walk and decided to leave in a rush from their so called family vacation here in a bullet train to Tokyo."

"You read their thoughts, didn't you?" Crawford smirked.

"Hey, I can't help it. I have the ability to read people's minds, remember? I am not called Mr. Nosy for nothing." Schuldig grinned.

"You said you found something and what did you find?"

"Here." Schuldig took out something from his pocket and passed it to Crawford. The American took it, switching on the car light, scrutinizing the laminated thing in his hand.

"Student Identification Card," he said and read, "Fujimiya Ran, third year, St Agnes High School."

"Pretty boy for a Japanese, ain't he? I like his hair and eyes color. Such a nice bloodred colored hair to match with deep violet eyes, a weird creation from God but yet so vividly beautiful," he said and Crawford could not deny it. It was one statement from Schuldig that he agreed upon and did not bother to disagree and argue with.

"I found it lying among the leaves, under one of the trees not far away from where the bodies were found."

Crawford nodded as he kept looking at the picture, almost as if he was enchanted by it.

Schuldig suddenly gave Crawford a smile. "So, are we going to meet this enchanting owner of the picture?" He asked the older man.

"Of course, but I don't want to meet him in haste. I shall handle him as delicately as possible." He paused. "Few days, then we find him. But before that, find out everything about him. I don't want any missing details. I want to know what he likes, who his friends are and every detail of his school schedule."

"Not telling the local police about what I found today? You know… the co-operative routine thing?" Schildig looked at Crawford.

Crawford snorted at the suggestion. "As if," he answered simply and started the engine. "This witness will be mine, and mine alone."

"You know… It's fun to sometimes play someone on the good side." Schuldig gave a merrily laughter as he pulled out his rubber band. "And to tweak the local police's minds to think that we are indeed representatives from Interpol is amusing. We should play Police more often."

Schuldig's smile was getting broader when he suddenly remembered what Crawford had said before. "Delicate, you say." He grinned maliciously. "You have a plan, don't you? You have foreseen something and that something seems to pique your interest and you definitely have designed something wicked in your head." He laughed.

"My dear Oracle, pity the boy," he declared as he buckled up.

"I really pity him," he emphasized, this time with a chuckle and a hint of amusement in his voice. "He will never suspect what hit him." He mused. "An experience that he will never forget for the rest of his life."

Schuldig managed to remain silent for a few seconds and suddenly said, "Shiver me Timbers."

"What?" Crawford looked at him, questioningly.

"Uh, nothing… some phrase I learned when I watched Pirates of the Caribbean… you know Crawford, you should watch the movie, the Captain I mean… Captain Jack Sparrow…"

"Schuldig!"

"Yes?"

"Shut up!" Crawford said as they cruised out of the faraway village through the night.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Yo!" Someone slapped him on the back. Ran jumped and turned around only to look into a set of amused jade eyes.

"Yohji!" He growled and kicked the older boy on the leg.

"Ouuuuch! What's that for?" Yohji asked, rubbing his leg.

"That's for scaring me of course!" He said as he smiled at the other two boys behind the lanky blond. One of them, Ken Hidaka, happened to be his classmate and Mamoru Takatori, two years his junior, were grinning wolfishly at him. "What are you doing here, you old man?"

"Hey! I am twenty-one," He pouted and then grinned. "I'm here to send my 'brothers' to school, of course, and did you forget I am Sawada sensei's assistant for the volleyball team starting today?"

Ran snorted. "Are you here to see your 'brothers' off or you here to look at how short Sakura's skirt is today?" He rolled his eyes.

"Well, let say, I like to kill two birds with one stone." Yohji paused and then asked Ran, who had started to walk towards the school gate with his brothers, "I thought you were granted permission to leave school for a week for your parents' vacation?"

"Ken told me that," he added.

"Sudden change of plans," Ran answered without looking back.

"Are you going to enter the District Kendo Championship?" Yohji asked and he was almost running to catch up to walk alongside the redhead. Ran sometimes walked like a torpedo, he never looked right, left or behind. He merely walked forward and fast.

"Yes." Ran gave him a short answer.

"Good! I love to see the Demon Orchid swinging his shinai! You look beautiful."

"Shut up!" Ran blurted out, blushing beet red as he said so.

"Whaaaaaaaaaat, everybody says so, right guys?" He turned towards Ken and Mamoru.

Ran turned to glare at them but instead his friends gave him synchronized smiles and he sighed.

"Hey Ran!" Yohji called him again.

"What?"

"I have a joke to share with you." He said, giggling like a girl and before Ran could protest, the older boy had begun talking. "It's called 'How to Check If Your Man is a Virgin?'!"

"Not listening." Ran said but he knew Yohji would continue anyway. Yohji's jokes were always dirty.

"A very 'straight and honest' girl from a village is going to a big city to work for the first time in her life. Before she leaves, her mother gives her some advice. 'Daughter, when you're in the big city and if you're looking for a match there, you must take note of the following requirements Mother set for you. You must find a man that is 'faithful', not 'spendthrift' and must be a 'virgin'." He paused and since Ran was still listening, he continued further. "With this advice from her mother, the girl went into Town. After some months, she comes home to her village to get her mother's blessings to marry. 'Mother, I've met my match following your instructions. My future husband is faithful because when we went out for holidays one time, he took care of me specifically even though there were so many prettier girls around. Isn't that being faithful?'."

"Then what did the mother says?" Mamoru asked, interested.

"Isn't he too young to listen to your dirty jokes, Yohji?"

"Don't worry; it will build up his character." He chuckled. "So, her mother nodded in agreement and the daughter says, 'Then, since the day was getting late in the night and rain was pouring, my boyfriend decided that we stay the night at a hotel. He also suggested that in order not to spend too much, we shared one room only. Isn't he not a spendthrift guy?' For the second time her mother nodded her head in agreement, but with a little concern. 'And finally mum... I know he is a virgin.' 'How did you know he is still a virgin?' The mother asked with trepidation."

And Yohji began to laugh, before he continued, "Mmm... 'His 'that one' was new... Still wrapped up in plastic, mum!'"

Ken was laughing and Ran merely cursed Yohji playfully, "Perverted old man," he said as he gave a small laugh.

But then Mamoru opened his mouth and asked innocently, "I don't get it. Why did the man need the plastic for?"

The three of them laughed hard and Ran shuffled his junior's hair.

They were about to enter the school when a girl's voice greeted them. "Good morning, Ran-kun." The girl said as she giggled and ran towards the gate. It was Sakura, a girl of the same age as him but in a different class whom he knew had a crush on him. His classmates told him that they would make a pretty perfect couple if they were dating. The problem was Ran was not interested in monkey love at the moment and preferred to concentrate on his studies, but then, he did not reject the girl blatantly. He accepted whatever Sakura gave him, like chocolates for Valentine's Day or cookies or even sometimes a lunch box. He gracefully said thank you and bowed. His mother told him that it was bad to hurt girls' feelings and it was better if Ran just accepted the gifts with a sincere thank you with no hidden motive. Ran further thought that after school was over and when they were in college, she would forget about her little high school crush. She was wearing a rather shorter skirt than the usual one today.

Yohji grinned and said to Ran. "That was a rather shockingly short skirt. Hmmm… Too bad I only go for girls above legal age," he said and suddenly added, "Did you know that sex is like a restaurant - sometimes you get fully satisfactory service and sometimes you have to be satisfied with self-service?"

Ran bopped Yohji's head with his bag and stomped off towards his class. He could hear Yohji laughing again and he was shouting. "Your face looks as red as your hair." He was indeed blushing again, he hated it whenever he blushed - everyone would notice due to his fair complexion and Yohji was one of those who could make him blush with all his jokes and naughty talk about sex. He had to admit that sex was not on his mind. His classmates, some of them who had done it, would tell him about their experiences and sometimes they would brag about it when they had an older working lover. But he, who had never even experienced a first kiss, would just listen to them. And, sometimes to make it worse, whenever Sakura came to his class to see him, giving him a lunch box, the boys in his class would ask him if they had even kissed. Ran merely shook his head and changed the subject. Why must his classmates make his life complicated? Can't they just leave the subject alone? So what if he was a still virgin at seventeen? It's not like the world would come to an end. Ran shrugged.

He actually never knew how to fall in love. Even when he did have lunch together with Sakura, there was no what they called a butterflies in his stomach, or the thumping in his chest. What he felt was normal, like when he went out with his friends for lunch.

Ran walked towards his class, pulled his chair out and sat down. His classmates greeted him and few of them were asking why he was in school when he was supposed to be with his family in Osaka. Ran had to answer each of them politely, although in his mind he wished that he had brought a tape recorder and could just press the 'Play' button.

The school bell rang, indicating that his first class was about to start. The Japanese History teacher walked in and everyone got up, including him, to greet the teacher. When the teacher saw him, he asked, "Fujimiya, what are you doing here? I thought you were excused from school for a week?"

Ran sighed inwardly and explained for the umpteenth time that day.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"You will love to hear this," Schuldig sauntered into his office, humming some German song that Crawford did not recognize and flopped down on the dark sofa at the corner of the desk.

He merely raised his head from his computer screen and his glasses glinted as he did. Schuldig shivered inwardly. Crawford was not someone he liked to pick a fight with, although sometimes Crawford did joke with him (which mostly he didn't get but laughed at anyway). They could also argue over some things but he never dared to cross the line and make the older man angry. At all times he let the other man win because he knew Crawford was quite a short tempered man. Like at this moment of time, he knew Crawford was in his no nonsense mode. Outside he could hear their Irish counterpart doing something to the hall sofa that he'd rather not bother to discuss with Crawford. The American would deal with it later, it was either strapping the Irishman or ask him to go and get a new sofa, preferably one made of steel this time.

"The boy… I mean Fujimiya Ran… you said you wanted to know everything about him." He said and took out an envelope from his green jacket.

Crawford nodded as he looked over at the German. Sometimes he even wondered how many long green jackets the other man had that he kept on wearing it.

"Top five students in school… He is well versed in two foreign languages, apparently English and German. A kendo representative for his school, a good one, they even have a nickname for him… The Demon Orchid. Not bad for a mere seventeen years old boy in this era, isn't it?" Schuldig eyes dropped to the computer. "Here are a few pictures if you'd like to see. The pictures don't do him justice. Either that, or he is not photogenic."

"Interesting." Crawford's gaze at the pictures did not waver, but his lips formed a soft smile that Schuldig thought he was hallucinating.

Schuldig blinked but when he looked again at the older man, the soft smile was gone and the serious expression had returned to his face. "Well, he has a soft spot for cats and the boy loves flowers. Currently, he is working as a part timer in a flower shop two blocks away from his house. A shop called Koneko No Sume Ie - that is 'The House of Kittens', cute name for a shop, eh?" He paused.

"One fact that might interest you; is that the boy has no romantic attachments whatsoever, but he does have a huge admirer. A girl named Sakura. He is also entirely alone in his house for the next three weeks, enough for you to do whatever it is you want to do." He finally stopped.

" So-o-o-o, when are we going to introduce ourselves to him?"

"Soon."

"Do we still need to keep an eye on him? See what he is doing, where he goes and with whom he goes out with?"

Crawford nodded.

"Oh! And when you decide that we can to introduce ourselves to him, can we play Interpol again?" Schuldig asked hopefully.

Crawford shook his head and returned to whatever he was doing with his computer. Schuldig sprang up off the sofa happily and continued his humming. This time Crawford recognized it as a theme song from one of the James Bond movies, the one called Golden Eye. Crawford thought the movies were all crap, with the same plot to destroy the world and in the end that Bond guy would save it.

It was not even five minutes after Schuldig walked out his office that he heard a commotion outside. Sighing and shaking his head, he opened his drawer and took out his 7.65 mm Walther PPK. He checked to make sure the bullet chambers were full before he walked out of his office to see what the commotion was all about. Standing in the doorway, all he saw was Farfarello screaming his battle cry and chasing Schuldig around the apartment, knocking over all the things that blocked them. Schuldig must have hit Farfarello's nerves with his 'I love God' remark again. He could hear crashing sounds everywhere and if he didn't stop them now, they would destroy the apartment and the neighbors would start nosing around, asking them about the noise.

Crawford took an aim and shot.

He heard a screeching sound, a moment of pure bliss of silence and without saying a word he headed back to his office.

He heard Schuldig shout 'It's not my fault, honest!', before he slammed his office door shut. Sometimes... Sometimes he really wished that he had a normal partner or team to work with, but God, on the other hand, no… not God, his employers had left him to be in charge of three demented partners and as the eldest of them all, he had to make decisions, calculating plans and the next move. If he let it all entirely in Schuldig's hands to decide, he was sure that there would be a world apocalypse in three minutes.

Crawford moved towards his desk and took out more pictures of Fujimiya Ran from the big brown envelope that Schuldig had handed to him earlier. One of the pictures showed him in his neatly pressed school uniform laughing with his friends on their way to school. Schuldig had told him that the blond friend of his was telling a terrible joke about man and his virginity. He had acquired all background information about the young man's friends; none of them were a threat to his schemes. All of them were young and innocent, except maybe for the blond one who seemed to be much older than the three boys.

He remembered that in the car when they were driving back from Osaka, Schuldig had jokingly made a bet - the boy would not be an easy prey for Crawford and challenged him to have the boy in the palm of his hand in two weeks. Crawford, being an arrogant and proud man himself, accepted the challenge and furthermore he had to work fast before someone else decided to take action.

He sat down, time to strengthen his plan.


	7. Chapter 6

**Thank you for the reviews and here is the next chapter.**

**Chapter 6**

Ran forced himself to walk along the long hallway towards the garden. His mother had called him earlier to remind him to water the plants, especially the petunia flowers that she had hung in the gazebo. He had to leave in twenty minutes to his part time job in Koneko no Sumu Ie. He, Yohji, Ken and Mamoru had been working there for almost three months. He could understand why he himself, Yohji and Ken wanted to work there, but he could not understand why Mamoru wanted to work too since his family was rich and influential. His uncle Takatori Reiji was one hell of a prominent man in the politics of Tokyo.

He had finished watering his mother's plants and looking at his watch, he quickly ran towards his room and changed into his favorite orange sweater and blue jeans when the phone in the hall suddenly rang.

Ran creased his eyebrows and shook his head. Sometimes his mother should just trust him to take of the house. It's not that he was some juvenile delinquent son that would tear down the house with his friends with booze and coke.

He picked up the phone.

"Hello, Fujimiya residence."

The line on the other side remained silent. Ran said hello again and, thinking that it must be a wrong number, he almost put the phone down when he heard breathing and a voice.

"Dead boys don't tell any tales." Ran dropped the receiver and heard a loud thud on the floor. He could still hear mechanical laughter from the other side of the receiver before he was left with a cut off tone. Ran could feel the blood draining from his face and he reeled backwards.

He waited for a few minutes, letting himself calm down before he called the store, informing them that he was feeling a little too much under the weather to go to work today. Yohji, who picked up the phone, had asked if anything was wrong since his voice sounded different. Ran told him not to worry; it's just a little cold that he was catching. Yohji had told him to rest well.

Ran put down the receiver and ran towards every door in the house making sure that they were locked and he walked as fast as he could towards his room and locked himself in, before securing himself on his bed. He didn't notice when he started to cry, his ears kept hearing strange sounds and he kept imagining that his bedroom door was being forced open and he could not see any face, only a very shiny hunting knife, coming in to carve his face like what had been done to one of the bodies that he had seen in the woods. He didn't realize it when he fell asleep. When he woke up, it was already morning and he had to go to school.

It was two days after that phone call and he had not received any other calls again, except from his parents. But still, his hands would be shaking, or he gasped and jumped every time the phone rang. Every time he in the house alone, he felt that the evenings seemed to be long and depressing. But the call never came again.

Ran was reading his book when he was on break, but his mind was filled of something else that he's been thinking about from the last phone call. Maybe they were trying to torment him, to see when he would break and then they would fix him to keep him quiet. He was still reading the first paragraph when Ken approached him. He put down the book and gave his friend a small smile, waiting for him to speak.

"Are you free this evening?'

Ran thought for a second. Of course he had nothing to do except his chemistry revision or his English Literature assignment and he would like to escape from this suffocating feeling.

"Yes, why?"

"Yohji had this horror movie that he wanted us to watch together. I can't remember the title but he says it's good, I asked Mamoru too, but it seems that today his father had some family gathering with his powerful uncle that he can't get out of."

"Sure." Ran said. "But I hope it's not some dirty or stupid horror movie that he wants us to watch."

Ken laughed at this. "You never know what our 'brother' is thinking. He might end up renting some C Class horror movie like Snakes on a Plane or maybe Black Sheep."

Ran rolled his eyes. "I hope not, I will buck-wash him if he did rent that kind of crap."

Ran glance at his watch, it was almost eight pm, He could not shake the uneasy feeling that he was being watched. Like a pair of unseen eyes followed him, glaring at his back. Watching and calculating his every move. He could imagine the look of the eyes, huge, white pale, with a luminous black tail floating on his eye level, unblinking like in the horror movie he had just watched with Ken and Yohji.

Ran could not help but hurrying his pace. In his heart, he cursed Yohji and his brilliant ideas to watch the horror movie. Ken always had nightmares after watching one of those horror movies but he never learned his lesson; he used to laugh at Ken's childish antics, now he admonished himself for acting the same. But he had himself to blame; he refused to let Yohji send him home because he was not like some kind of a girl that needed company to see him home. Furthermore, it only took ten minutes shortcut walk from Yohji's house to his. Yohji had told him to be careful and promised that the next time Ran came to his house; they would watch a porn movie instead of a horror one.

He felt nervous, like he was being stalked by something invisible. And he could not shake off the feeling no matter how hard he tried. Gathering his courage, Ran turned around in a fast move, expecting something behind him…. But there was no one there. He could only hear water dripping from the nearby drain. His eyes cast through the garbage bins and he could hear heavy breaths clearly.

It was not the first time that he walked past this back alley and Yohji knew this route very well too. That man, no matter how he was supposed to be mature, sometimes still acted childish and loved to pull pranks on others. "Yohji!!!" He yelled out. "It's NOT funny!"

There was no answer. Instead the breathing was getting heavier. He was now sure that it was not Yohji and had not realized that his hands had started shaking.

Ran turned to run, but halted. _Damn it!_ He thought. I_ am what they refer to as the Demon Orchid in Kendo tournaments and now I am trying to run away like some kind of coward. _His rivals would laugh their heads off if they ever knew that he was running away like a small child after watching a horror movie.

But then trying to be stupidly brave was not a good thing either. So, he turned and walked as fast as he could, ignoring the eerie feeling that he was still being watched. He refused to turn around when he heard a loud thump, but when he felt a single breath on his neck, Ran halted and froze and turned…


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"Hey, are you all right?"

He heard a deep foreign baritone above him and looked up, scrunching his face as he did. _Great! Just great!_ _Now I attract attention. An unwanted attention. _He sighed inwardly. Standing before him was a man, a stranger, a foreigner in fact, in his darkish grey sweater and jeans, staring at him with concern and from his accent Ran knew that the man was an American.

He was about to brush the foreigner off, afraid that he had attracted a foreign perverted man but when his eyes met the ones of the owner of the voice, he couldn't help but staring at the man in astonishment. He was an extraordinary good looking, handsome and… Ran lost any words to describe the stranger in front of him and instead he merely gaped and blinked and his senses were bombarded with the man's perfume that he recognized, a Bvlgari, the one in black round bottle. It's his favorite.

The man extended his hand. Ran, without thinking, reached his hand out and the man helped him up and held him when he staggered a little. His knees were still feeling weak and the man grasped his arm, steadying him.

Ran looked up; his face was still pale. He didn't know when he had tripped in his hurry to run. He remembered that when he had turned, he had accidentally bumped into one of the steel garbage bins, which he couldn't remember if it was ever there before and fell to the ground with his hand resting against the now collapsed bin.

Ran shook his head slowly and blushed. He tried to hide his embarrassment by casting his eyes down and scraping off the dirt from his hand and his school uniform with his hands. Luckily the garbage bin had been empty.

"I was about to get into my car when I heard a crashing sound and a scream and when I looked around I saw you fall down." He glanced at the boy and was amused at how skittish and embarrassed the boy was at the moment. "I know it's not my business, but what happened? Is someone after you?" He asked and glanced around the alleyway. The lane was quite dark, since only a few lights were working to light the path.

Ran paused, _Did I scream?_ He couldn't remember.

"I…" He heard the boy started talking and halted briefly. The stranger waited patiently for him to reply. "I watched a horror movie with my friends and I was being silly….." The boy's voice wavered and he continued wiping at invisible dirt on his right knee, not looking up at him as he explained.

"That always happens…" He heard the stranger laugh and Ran could not contain his embarrassment any longer. His legs were twitching to run away from this moment. He felt ludicrous. "You missed a spot." The man said further and Ran raised his head to look at the man, confused.

"Here…" The stranger took out a handkerchief from his right pocket and suddenly reached out to cup his face. Ran flinched a little, not because he was scared but he felt… something… what was that word … _aah, giddy _and his heart was betraying him by giving a loud thump and there was a queasy feeling in his stomach.

The man held his face, a grip that was gentle but yet firm at the same time. It was not often that Ran let an unknown person hold his face but somehow he was entranced and of course he was too stunned and embarrassed to object.

The man gave him a soft smile and Ran found that it softened the foreigner's sharp features. He let the man wipe his lower left cheek and was sure that he looked like an idiot.

"There! All new…" The man said, as he folded the handkerchief and put it back into his pocket. Ran was tempted to ask for the handkerchief for him to wash, but it would make him sound like a boy trying to do some cheap pick up line over a girl.

"Thank you." He said and wanted to walk away, when the man suddenly said, "You didn't even introduce yourself to your knight in shining armor."

Ran almost knocked down another bin with his feet and slapped his face with both hands. _How rude of me! Where are my manners?_ He turned towards the man, "I'm Fujimiya Ran, you can call me Fujimiya...eh... I mean Ran." He stuttered and the man let out a soft chuckle.

"Ran, that's a nice name, simple and its suits you," he said smiling.

Ran's face reddened and turned away, he felt like he was being picked up.

"I'm Crawford," the man said simply, sticking his hand out for a shake and handed Ran his card.

"Thank you again, Crawford-san," Ran said as they shook hands. He noticed that the man had a strong grip and read the business card that was handed to him.

_Interpol, _he was thinking for a second before he understood that it was the short form for the International Criminal Police Organization. He looked at the American, biting his lips. He wanted to say something but instead he merely bowed and turned, tucking the card into his breast pocket.

"You could reach me at any time if you have any problems," he heard the man say and he turned to smile and bow again at the man.

Crawford's eyes did not waver as he watched intensely when the boy sauntered away, a little faster and when he was out of sight and he said to himself, "See you again, Ran. Soon."

He heard a chuckle and turned to see his German accomplice smirking.

"He spoke perfect English. You should just tell him that you can speak Japanese. Anyway, like what I did?" He drawled and pocketed his hand. "What a cold night." He shivered. "And do you know how hard it was to set things up before he walked through this alleyway?"

"Don't you feel lucky that I foresaw it?" Crawford said.

Schuldig shrugged when he suddenly said, "The boy was scared."

"Scared?"

"His mind was all jumbled. It was a phone call that he received and that phone call scared him. He even had intensive kendo training for the last two days to defend himself just in case."

"He is after him. Kendo or no kendo, he will be no match against him."

"Yup and he is taking his own sweet time. You should get into the boy's life faster."

Crawford stood still for a few seconds, closing his eyes, and when he came back to his senses, Schuldig heard him saying. "He will make contact again." Schuldig was not sure if Crawford was referring to the man or to the boy.

Ran reached his house lawn a few minutes later, his heart was still pounding as he opened the gate and latched it behind him. He was not sure if his heart was pounding because he was still scared or because of the encounter with that good looking stranger in the alley.

He put down his school bag on the table and took out the card, putting it carefully on the desk before taking off his dirty clothes. He walked with only his underwear on towards the washing machine and dumped the clothes in. He wanted to take off his underwear too, but decided against it because although there was no one in the house, he still felt ashamed walking with his thing dangling around the house.

He was about to step in the bathroom when the house phone rang. Ran scratched his ears in annoyance because he felt icky and he needed a bath and also because he knew it would be Yohji calling him to ask if he had arrived safely.

He decided to call Yohji later and let the phone ring.

Ran walked out of the bathroom with a towel hanging from his waist when he heard the phone ringing again. He sighed, Yohji could be impatient sometimes or he was worried. He quickly dried himself and reached for clean underwear, and hung the towel over his shoulder before running towards the hall.

_For Kami-sama sake, I am not a girl!_ He thought bitterly but he also felt grateful because he had a friend that cared about him, although sometimes Yohji gave him too much attention. He knew Yohji meant well, but...

Ran picked up the phone and didn't even bother with a greeting. "Yes, Yohji! I am home and safe," he said and wiped his face with the towel.

"You should just take off your underwear, you know. You look so damn fuckable."


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Ran remained unmoving, the receiver still clutched between his chin and ear. He moved his eyes directly towards the window opposite the house phone. The sheer curtain was closed, but how did the man know?

"I can still hear you breathing, yes, keep on breathing boy." The line went dead and left him with a long engage tone.

Ran staggered backwards; his arm hit the table and he jumped, hissing. He could hear his own labored breathing. His eyes suddenly caught the business card lying peacefully on the table. Ran grabbed the card and read it again. _Interpol… But still I can ask for help, right? _

He quickly picked the phone up and dialed the number on the card. _Pick up, please_, he prayed in his heart. After two rings, he heard a deep voice that he recognized from earlier and sighed in relief.

"Crawford-san, I'm Fujimiya, Fujimiya Ran.. I mean Ran, we met earlier… at… the… alley." He paused and took a deep breath; he knew that he was stuttering. "I…."

"Calm down, Ran. What is it?"

Ran took another deep breath. "I need help," he said finally. He knew it was absurd to ask a stranger he just met for help, but Ran could not care less anymore. In fact, he could not think straight. He needed help and he couldn't keep this bottled up inside.

"Where are you?" Crawford asked.

"Home… at my house."

"Where is your house? I am still around the neighborhood."

Ran gave him the address.

"I'll be right there." He heard the man said before he put down the phone. Ran quickly cast his eyes around the hall and saw a broom. He grabbed the broom and waited.

"That was fast," Crawford heard Schuldig say as he pressed the end button of his cell phone.

"He sounded panicked. Panicked enough to call me."

"Someone has made contact again…"

"Out of the car and go straight back to our apartment. I will handle this myself."

"Yes… yes…" Schuldig smirked, "Don't be naughty, he still an innocent piece of meat, you know." He got out of the car, watching it speed off. "Tch, only he gets to have fun and I have to be like a wife waiting for him to come home."

Ran heard someone knock on the door. He moved forward slowly, holding a broom in his Morote Hidari Jodan stance. His hands felt heavy but he forced himself towards the door.

"Who… who is it?" He asked.

"Crawford. You called me." The person outside the door answered him in English.

Ran sighed inwardly, dropping the broom and opened the door. He didn't know what to do but he could not convey how relieved he felt when he saw the man.

"Aren't you cold?" Crawford asked.

Ran was astounded. Why would Crawford ask him if he was cold out of the blue. "Uh?"

"You need to wear something," Crawford added and pointed to Ran's almost naked self.

Ran suddenly realized that he was just in his underwear, his face reddened and in haste he tried to cover his body with his hands, only to hide his nipples and expose everything else to the foreigner in front of him.

Twice humiliated, he thought and was about to make a dash to his bedroom when his hand was grabbed, he lost his balance and toppled on the strong lean body that belonged to the American. "I... I want to get dressed." His face was embedded in the man's sweatshirt. Crawford steadied the boy and placed his jacket over his shoulders, covering the boy's body.

He was not a pervert, but it was not like he would not take advantage when the opportunity presented itself in front of him and he must confess that he rather liked to see the boy without clothes on. It gave him the upper hand when the boy was flustered. He could fish out more information when the other party felt vulnerable.

Crawford guided the boy towards the sofa in the hall; Ran moved slowly, still conscious about his nakedness and glad that there was a jacket covering him. He would remember this humiliating night for the rest of his life.

They seated on the sofa and Ran was biting his lips. He knew he could converse in English well, but he was not that confident when he was confronted with a man to whom English was his mother tongue.

"I can speak Japanese well you know." The American broke the ice between them, after they had been seated for almost five minutes and Ran was still silent.

Ran looked down at his hands and began kneading his fingers. "I do understand English, but I am just not confident enough to converse in it. I can only practice when there are foreigners coming to buy flowers at the flower shop. I converse in few sentences anyway."

Ran paused then added, "I work at flower shop, as a part time job."

Crawford was tempted to say 'I know' because he already knew everything about the boy, from what time he usually woke up, to what food he ate, and the boy sure had a peculiar sense of color. He wanted to snort when he remembered the picture of Ran wearing his favorite orange sweater.

He was scrutinizing the boy's appearance. The alley was not bright enough for him to appreciate it, but up close, he could not deny what Schuldig had informed him of; that the boy, as rumored, looked exactly like a living doll and it made him something that you wanted to own and keep. Any straight men who could see what he saw now would eagerly want to get into this boy's pants. Who could blame them when he had such pale, smooth and no markings or bruises to deface the skin? Crawford could smell the soap the boy was using.

Moonflowers with a hint of lilac.

Moonflower, a night blooming flower; a dream of love. It reminded Crawford of a book where moonflower represented that there is hope that emerges out of the darkness and lilac represent youthful innocence. Pretty symbolic and it suited the boy well. He was not a romantic, he didn't believe in romance, but reading carried knowledge.

"And I am sorry for calling you, but I can't think of anyone else." He heard the boy talking. Crawford quickly snapped out of his observations and tried to concentrate on what the redhead was saying.

'_Down boy,' _he thought to himself. He had to get his mind out of the gutter.

"Where are your parents?" Crawford suddenly asked, feigning no knowledge of their whereabouts.

"They were at my grandparents' house," Ran answered, "In Osaka."

Ran looked troubled, he wished that he had called Yohji earlier, but he knew Yohji would not be able to help him and he did not want to worry his friends or drag them into his troubles. His blond friend always chided him for keeping things to himself, but Ran was not a talker and this was not something that a mere volleyball assistant could help with anyway.

Ran wanted to confide in this man. He looked like he could be trusted and wasn't he in the Force, to serve and protect, like what he always had seen on those taglines on the patrol cars in the American TV-series? Then again, this guy was working at Interpol, stalking was not part of their jurisdiction. From what Ran knew they worked mostly with drug trafficking or, on the most famous crimes, which would be weapon smuggling.

He still felt guarded. It's not in his nature to trust anyone easily, let alone strangers, but being afraid had resulted in his own stupidity, like giving his address to this man that he knew only about … what, ten minutes and had met in an alley no less and on top of it all, he was half naked.

But what was done was done and he had to face it. He opened his mouth to disclose what had been haunting him for the past few days.

**TBC**

**Author's explanation:**

Morote Hidari Jodan - One of the stance in kendo MOROTE (with both hands) HIDARI JODAN by stepping left foot forward and the shinai (wood sword) is held at an angle of about 30 degrees to the right.

RubyMoon and C Elise, thank you very much for the each chapter review. I really do appreciate them

Princess Sin – Hmm.. you will know as the chapters updated who is Ran stalker in…. hmmm…. 7 more chapters I think (me try counting with hands)XD

and thank you


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"I think someone is stalking me," Ran said finally.

"Stalking you? What makes you think that?" Crawford acted surprised as he brought in a glass of warm water for the boy from the kitchen. In Japanese kitchens it was so easy to find where the glasses and water were. They were very well organized.

"I have received weird phone calls during the last two days and today," Ran answered as he took one of the glasses from the older man's hand and murmured a thank you.

"Did the person say something or did they just remain silent on the phone?" Crawford asked, concerned. "A woman or a man?"

"Man, I think… he sounded weird, like a machine."

"What did he tell you? Did he threaten to hurt you?"

"Today, he said… to…" Ran hesitated, looking down at the house carpet as if there was an interesting pattern on it.

"What is it? Tell me." Crawford pushed slowly.

"Just now… he… he told me… to take off my…" Ran faltered, feeling uncertain again as how to continue and took a slow sip of his drink. He was suddenly unsure whether he should tell this or not. He knew this was not under Crawford's control.

"What did he ask you to take off?" Crawford pressed again when he noticed that Ran began to waver; his hand was gripping the broomstick that Ran had dropped earlier to contain his patience.

"He said, he told me…" Ran swallowed. "He told me to take off my underwear and that I look…" He swallowed again, harder this time, "damn fuckable," he finally managed to finish the sentence.

He heard sound of a broken wood; something clattered on the floor and he looked at Crawford's hand. He was startled to see the broomstick broken into two and Crawford's hand was bleeding. Ran quickly got up to find the First Aid Kit; but instead Crawford captured his hand again, forcing him to sit.

"Don't worry about it," he said.

"But… but, you're bleeding."

"It doesn't hurt; I just go and clean this up." Crawford said as he moved to get up off of the sofa, holding his bleeding hand, and walking towards the kitchen. From the corner of his eyes he could see Ran get up and walk to one of the cabinets, bending down to search for the bandage and disinfectant. Crawford hid his smirk and watched the presented view.

When Ran stood up, he turned back towards the sink and let the water wash away the blood. He gave his hand a glance, the cut was not deep and he thought that with Ran bending down in his white cotton briefs, the cut was well worth it. Too bad the boy was not wearing _fudonshi. _

"Do you learn any self-defense?" Crawford asked, pretending that he knew nothing while Ran was busy disinfecting his wound. He hissed a little when Ran dabbed particularly on the wound.

Ran paused and look Crawford "I'm sorry, does it hurt? I am not good at this," he admitted and pulled his hand away. Crawford gently stayed the boy's hand and shook his head, giving Ran signal of encouragement to continue. "I am a kendōka," Ran said. "I practice Kendo; it's a Japanese martial art for fencing," he explained.

Crawford nodded indicating that he understood what Kendo means.

"You're good at it?"

Ran gave him a soft smile, "Maybe, I don't know, my rank at the moment is _go-dan_, I hope I can reach the _hachi-dan_ but sensei told me that the exam is extremely difficult, less than one per cent are said to pass the exam. Anyway, he also told me that I am qualified to compete in the District Kendo tournament," Ran told him, his eyes brightened as he spoke and of course he wouldn't tell the man his nickname. It would be embarrassing in his current condition.

Crawford could see how energized Ran was when explaining to him about his sport and the boy's violet eyes began to glow as he became more excited. He wondered if Ran's eyes would glow in bed as well. He felt like pinning the boy now, God he really wanted it, but controlled himself.

_Discipline Crawford, discipline._

Ran continued to talk as he wrapped Crawford's hand with the bandage. Crawford could feel that the boy's hands were not calloused although he was participating in a tough sport. He seemed to be overly concentrating on wrapping his hand and explaining about his kendo so that he had totally forgotten about his stalker. Crawford decided to let the boy talk and would bring the subject up again later.

"When did you start to learn this Japanese martial art for fencing?" he asked, trying to remain on the subject.

"When I was five.I was so bad at first that I was even ranked in _kyu_ level." He grinned. "It's a lower level than _dan,_" he explained when he saw Crawford's confused gaze. "Sensei taught me all the ten forms of kendo and yet…" Ran's face suddenly changed and his hand movements began to slow down. "And yet, I am still afraid."

"If I am not wrong, one of the purposes of learning kendo is to promote peace and prosperity right?" Crawford locked his eyes with the boy's.

Ran nodded. "The knowledge should not be used as a weapon, or with murderous intent. It will defeat the purpose," he added.

Crawford almost rolled his eyes, _such a naïve boy_. Crawford could not believe that such youngsters still existed in this modern Japan, but then again, Ran was different. Crawford had learned that Ran's father was a financial advisor for the Takatori Group, an honest man, who had received no bribes and he had instilled his son with honesty and that there were still good deeds in this world. He almost snorted at that thought.

"Isn't one of its' other purposes to hold your honor, am I right?"

Ran seemed to agree when he nodded slowly.

"Using that as your self defense does not mean that you are against your kendo principle, you are protecting your honor."

"Honor or not, I could never use it to hurt people."

"But you did hurt people in such tornaments right?"

"That was different. We strike at them but we don't inflict injuries on our opponents," Ran snapped.

"So, are you going to let this stalker get what he wants?" Crawford made himself sound frustrated. "You know exactly what he wants; to see you break."

Ran turned his face away. Crawford's words cut through his senses but he was adamant and being obstinate about it. "I will not let him break me and I will not hurt anyone using kendo."

Crawford hide his smile. _We'll see about it.__If he doesn't, I will._


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

It was almost ten pm when Crawford looked at his watch. Ran saw the gesture and turned towards the older man.

"Are you leaving?" He asked; his eyes blinking erratically in panic at the fact that Crawford would be leaving him alone.

"Do you want me to leave?" 

"No" Ran said, his voice almost inaudible, unable to say it directly to Crawford's face.

"But I can't stay here either. It's not proper for me to stay in someone else's house when the owner barely knows me." 

"But…" Ran paused. Crawford was right and he was being unreasonably… stupid.

"But..." Crawford said again. "If you don't mind, I can put you in a hotel to keep you safe, it is near to my apartment, barely a few minutes walk. You don't have to worry about the expenses, I'll pay." 

"What about… my school?"

"I'll see you there and pick you up."

"It will be imposing, I mean for you."

"Are you coming or not?" Crawford asked firmly. "Decide."

Crawford could be scary sometimes. It took Ran a few minutes to think over the pros and cons of agreeing with the man's idea and finally he nodded. At least, the American did not decide to ask him to stay in 'his' apartment. That would be odder for him to agree to. He had to lie to his parents… again. Staying at Yohji's or at his other friends' houses that his father and mother barely knew. His mind was swirling over what he had to tell his parents that he didn't notice that Crawford was moving towards him, peeling off the jacket that he was wearing. That reminded him that he was still in his underwear. It was lucky that he decided to take a shower first before answering the call and called the American, or else, Ran thought, if he was still wearing his lucky rocket underwear from earlier, he might have to dig his own hole and bury himself in it.

"I need to wear something first." He blushed… "And pack."

"I'll wait." Crawford said to him without looking at the boy. Ran noticed that Crawford was looking at the washing machine. It was a front-loading machine and he had sat it in a gentle cycle and it was beeping, telling him that his laundry was done. And to his utter embarrassment, his underwear with tiny prints of little red rockets exhibited themselves on the front-loading window. 

Crawford chuckled. "Nice underwear," he commented. 

If Ran's face was the only part that was blushing earlier, this time Crawford spotted that his whole body was red like ripe tomatoes. "Don't worry; it will be our little secret," he added.

The boy sighed and was walking awkwardly towards the washing machine to unload and fold his uniform and balled the underwear in his fist as if trying to hide it from Crawford. He then went to his room to pack the rest of his things. 

They were in Crawford's Black Metallic Buick Lucerne and Ran sat in the car in awe. It was the latest generation evolved from Buick Park Avenue, a car with a capacity of 4.6 liter North Star V-8, more sporty and manufactured by General Motors in United States.

He ran his fingers over the car's dark titanium interior, admiring it. He couldn't afford a Buick but he had dreamt about owning a Porsche 928 one day, preferably in white. Too bad that it was a limited edition car and he was a broke 17-year old boy. 

Crawford drove in silence. He didn't even turn the music on. Ran was beginning to fidget in the uncomfortable silence. The Crawford inside his house was different from the Crawford in the car. His sharp handsome face looked serious and once in a while the older man would adjust his glasses. He seemed to be thinking and his steely look forewarned Ran not to disturb him while driving. Ran huffed, rubbing his hands and looked out of the window.

Ran was about to feel dizzy with the colorful blinking neon lights as Crawford's car sped past rows of high-end night clubs and began to rub his hands again.

"If you are cold, why don't you tell me?" Crawford asked. The other man's steely brown eyes were looking at him briefly before turning back to the road. "I'd prefer it if you said something if it's uncomfortable rather than giving me subtle signals."

"I am not cold, it's just that you are … concentrating on driving" Ran shot back and crossed his arms. 

"I was thinking." Crawford said.

"Of what?" Ran asked, interested.

"Of you." Crawford gave a short answer.

"Me?" He squeaked.

Crawford gave a single nod before he continued. "Why were you being stalked? Have someone stalked you before?"

Ran lifted his shoulder as a signal that he didn't know or even if he had been, he hadn't realized it.

"Is there something you are not telling me? I wanted to help but if you are hiding something from me…"

Ran knew that he was trapped; he could no longer get around it…

"You can tell me." Ran had Crawford's full attention now.

"I, when I was at my grandparents' house…" he started; eyes downcast and began to knead his hands faster, which Crawford recognized as the boy's habit whenever he felt nervous. Ran told him in a low voice about the woods, what he saw, whom he saw, the knives, the men in hooded raincoats and what they were doing to the faces…

"… But even if they would be lined up, I couldn't tell who they are," Ran confessed. "I have a feeling that they are after me. They know… " He ended with a hiccup. 

Crawford reached out and squeezed the boy's arm in a comforting gesture. "Did you leave anything that would let them know where to find you?"

"My student ID… I dropped it."

Crawford knew that it was not how they had managed to know of the boy's whereabouts or who he was in the first place, because the ID was still with him, locked into his drawer. They must have their own source of information.

They reached a Hotel. Ran's pace stopped dead as he gaped at the most luxurious hotel he knew in Tokyo. It was situated opposite an impressive twenty-four-story penthouse condo.

Crawford realized that the boy was not moving; he turned and took the boy's hand and almost dragged him along and guided him to the hotel's entrance, ignoring the repeated mumblings of 'I-can't-stay-here' from the redhead.

"I stayed there, on the twenty-fourth floor." Crawford pointed at the condo. 

"Interpol sure pays you much," Ran commented and then blushed sheepishly at his rudeness.

Crawford smirked. "No, I have my side income to afford that," he said as they were walking towards the reception. Ran was wondering what sort of side income that Crawford had while staring at the water fountain outside that separated the area between the hotel and the condo. He heard Crawford talking to the girl at the reception and from the corner of his eyes he saw Crawford take out a platinum card from his wallet and check him in.

He wondered if he had made a mistake. A huge mistake.

A few men were walking past him and one of the men was admiring him openly. Ran took few steps backward and tried to hide behind one of the potted birds of paradise. He caught his reflection in a mirror and realized that he was only clad in a faded trousers and his school's P.E T-shirt and a backpack. He suddenly got the picture why those people were looking at him; he must look like man whore that had scored big time.

He was covering his face with his hands and took a deep breath when he realized that someone was standing in front him. It was not Crawford, but another man, who looked to be around forty with gray hair, wearing thin black-rimmed glasses. He was smiling and Ran was unsure whether he should smile back or not, when suddenly Crawford came into view, raising his eyebrow and stared at the man in front of him. Crawford looked like he was about to pounce.

"Let's go." 

Ran shivered at the tone in Crawford's voice. It was as if the American was announcing it to everyone that _'this thing here is mine, so lay off'._


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Crawford steered him towards the elevator. He heard a soft 'ding' and when they were in, the older man pressed the button to the fifteenth floor.

They walked side by side in silence until they reached a door of a room. Crawford used the hotel card key to open it and led the redhead into the room. 

The suit that Crawford had placed him in was very elegant, with a French gilded antique swan bed and with patterned floors and accentuated with gold. The walls were decorated with items and prints from Versailles and corralled with Japanese Shuijo horses. Ran walked passed the bathroom, it had a jetted bathtub and glass-walled shower. _I could try that,_ he thought as he saw the bathtub. 

Ran stood near a window overlooking the city skyline. He had a view to kill for. Too bad he couldn't share this with his friends, they would be ecstatic but there would also be lots and lots of questions that he would like to avoid. He began to worry that if Yohji would see Crawford sending him to school or picking him up, more questions would be asked.

"Ran, look at me and listen." 

Ran automatically turned and his marvelous violet eyes met the stern golden brown ones.

"Do not go out by yourself; do not let anyone other than me into this room, understood?" Crawford said and handed one of the key cards to him. Ran nodded and took the card, examining it and placed it carefully in a vanity table drawer.

Crawford pocketed the duplicate card in his jacket was about to leave when he heard a growling stomach. Ran blushed, as much as he tried to control it, his stomach was growling, rather loudly. He realized that he hadn't taken dinner. He needed solid food, rice if he could find any in this fancy hotel, but he doubted it.

"Let's go down for a quick bite and I send you up again. I should go back to my office and check if there is any news about the slaying in the local police database." 

Crawford entered the safe house which was located just a floor down from his apartment. He was shrugging off his jacket when he saw Schuldig on a lazy chair, watching a movie on the cable TV with Farfarello snoring on his lap. The German had his yellow trademark bandana in his hand and his unruly orange hair looked like a burning fire. 

Schuldig waved his hand without turning to see who it was at the door. Crawford walked towards them and the German moved his eyes away from the TV and saw a bandage on the other man's hand, "Well, well, well… Doing something naughty on the first date?" He asked and smiled maliciously.

Crawford snorted and took off his shirt, showing off his well toned body.

"Where's Nagi?" 

"The poor little chibi... Since you made him a transfer student at St. Agnes to spy…"

"Not spying, to keep an eye," Crawford corrected him.

Schuldig rolled his eyes. "Yeaaaah, to keep an eye on that little boy of yours. He has been exhausted with all the catching up on homework and he has gone to bed early today. Your fault, that I have no company to play Warlord with." 

"You can play with Farfarello."

"You've got to be joking." He snorted. "By the way, our little boy there has an admirer, you know. That genki Takatori boy. They call him Omi in class it seems," Schuldig said as he combed through his hair with his fingers. "Damn! I need to cut my hair and color it sandy green."

"What you need to do with your hair is to comb it properly," Crawford retorted as he walked towards the fridge and took out a can of beer.

Schudig could hear the sizzling sound that the beer made as Crawford pulled off the tag and took a huge gulp.

"You still didn't answer my question; what happened to your dear hands, did the big bad wolf get bitten by a tiny kitten?" Schuldig said as he turned the TV off. "Share with me those juicy, juicy details."

"Nothing juicy happened," Crawford answered simply and turned towards the bathroom. He really needed a shower.

"Oh! Come on…. SHAAAAAAAAARE!" Schuldig jumped up from the lazy chair. Farfarello opened his eyes, stayed silent for a few seconds before he lifted up the knife that he was sleeping with and screamed… "YIAYIAYIAYIAYIAYIAYIA!" 

"Klappe Zu, Farf! It's just Crawford!" He heard the Irishman mumbling before there was another snore. Schuldig paced back and forth in the hallway, he was so going to pester Crawford for the details. He wanted to know and Crawford never told him what was on his mind. Supposedly, he should just read Crawford's mind - he could try but he would fail. He remembered trying it once and as a result, he had a tremendous headache and a bleeding nose when Crawford gave him a sudden mental shut out. "Hmph! Kleinlich!" Schuldig stood in front of the bathroom sulking.

Crawford got out of the bath, feeling refreshed only to be greeted by a moping redhead. He sighed inwardly and let the sulking German read bits and pieces of his mind. Of course, he concealed how almost naked Ran was when he was there. That view was for him and him only.

"You left him in a very posh hotel? That's very generous" Schuldig wrapped one of his arms around Crawford, sighing dramatically. "I envy him; you never even brought any of us to that kind of suite when we were on jobs."

Crawford shrugged the arm away and took a clean black round necked shirt to wear, moving to sit on the sofa next to the lazy chair which Farfarello now was occupying, sleeping like a dead log.

"What are you planning? You never tell us any of your plans." He heard Schuldig said. "Shower him with luxuries to get his body or offer him protection service and in return his body as the payment?" 

"None of the above," Crawford said plainly. I'll be staying at my apartment starting from tonight," he declared. "Make sure you don't destroy this safe house when I am not around. Savvy?"

"Oh my God!" Schuldig exclaimed before he quickly shut his mouth with his two hands, his eyes peeking at Farfarello. He was lucky that the Irishman did not hear him - the man did not stir but he could see Farfarello's ear twitching like a cat's, sleeping but alert to what was happening around it.

"You watched it! I don't believe it! You and that Jack Sparrow has the same personality… except that staggering drunk walking style, you sure has the same trait…the manipulative part!" Schuldig was imagining Crawford in the Pirate's Captain Outfit and he laughed maniacally. 

"Not happening." Crawford got up and took his leave, leaving the laughing German to his own joke. 

_Klappe Zu --- Shut it! Or shut up_

_Kleinlich! ---- Stingy!_


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Ran dropped his down on the four poster bed and stared at the ceiling. Sighing, he took out his cell phone and called his parents, successfully lying to them about his whereabouts for the next 2two weeks. His parents told him that as his grandmother was suddenly not feeling well and that they might stay longer than planned if she was still unwell. Ran knew that his father wouldn't have any problems if he extended his leave from work as long as there was a phone to communicate with. His father also had banked some money in his account if that would happen and he could hear his mother tell his father to make sure their lonely son took a proper meal. 

They talked for awhile, Ran asked about his grandmother and Aya. His father told him that Aya would be back in Tokyo in a week but she would be going straight to their uncle's house and would be staying there until their parents were back. Ran couldn't hide his relief when he heard that because until Crawford managed to help him clearing off the problems he was facing, he did not want any of his family members around. He knew he was not strong enough to protect them all. 

He ended the conversation, wishing them well and told his father to tell his mother that he missed her. Seconds after he pushed the red button on his phone, he heard a ring and recognized it as Crawford's number.

"Comfortable?" He heard the man's voice on the other line asking.

"Yes… thank you." 

"The mini fridge is fully stocked up if you are hungry."

"Sure," Ran replied to that, he was not hungry. The quick bite that they took earlier happened to be a hearty meal for him. He was so stuffed that he was feeling sleepy, but stubbornly stayed awake as he had to finish his school assignment. He couldn't stop from yawning. Maybe he could do his homework in the morning. He knew he wouldn't be able to do anything now, his eyelids were getting heavy and Crawford's voice sounded so warm like a lullaby making him even sleepier. 

"Sleepy?" He heard the other man ask.

Ran gave a soft laugh, "You can tell."

"You've been yawning non stop. I could hear it from here." Crawford bid him good night and reminded him that he would pick him up for school tomorrow.

The American could barely put down his cell phone before it rang a second later. 

"I transferred him."

Crawford listened to what the person on the other line said.

"Nothing to worry about, he should be safe there. I will see to it." He said as he walked to his mini bar and poured himself a whiskey.

Crawford listened impatiently, grinding his teeth as he the drink to his room, obviously irritated that someone was questioning his job or his actions. He knew better. 

"When everything is over, I will hand him to you. Till then, I will do as I wish." He said ending the conversation. Crawford looked out from his window and could clearly see the other building where he had placed Ran. Picking his glass up in a toast, he muttered "Sweet Dreams," before finishing his drink in one gulp.

When he woke up, Ran wasn't sure where he was. All he knew was that it was the first night in a very long time since he had had a good night's sleep. Then he remembered where he was and who had brought him there. He glanced at his wristwatch; he had risen early and had an ample time to finish his homework before Crawford came to pick him up. 

He looked outside the window; it was raining cats and dogs. _Urgh!_ _If only there was no school today and I didn't have to get up. It would nice to sleep till afternoon_, he thought. He blinked a few times and with strong resolution he left the bed and got ready.

Crawford picked him up as promised. The man was dressed in casual attire; a white collared shirt and a pleated dark slacks and he was wearing a square rolo linked necklace to complete his looks. He was adjusting his glasses, saying good morning to Ran.

Ran pressed his lips together before looking at the older man. "Do you mind dropping me off a little bit away from the school gates?" He asked.

Crawford looked at him through the rear view mirror. 

"I don't want my friends seeing me coming in a big car. They, you know… umm.. asks lots of questions," he reasoned. 

Crawford understood the boy's predicament and did not bother to ask further questions. "I'll pick you up at the same place as where I drop you off then?"

He saw Ran nod and the boy said, "I'm sorry you have to do this for me. I am really imposing on you, aren't I?"

Ran could feel Crawford's right hand suddenly squeeze his fingers. Crawford fingers were hot and the touch was like an electric jolt coursing through his body. Ran was trying not to be too obvious about it and looked fleetingly at Crawford's lean body through the corner of his eyes. He did not realised that he was suddenly picturing how it would feel if his body were to be held againts that strong one. Ran shook his head, trying to clear it off the images. How could he think of that, with a man no less? He had not even experienced his first kiss with girls, hell, he did not even masturbate to release himself, something that he would never tell anyone - not even his best friends and now he was imagining being embraced by a man? His heart had an unusual thumping beat that he swore he could hear it with his own ears and when he felt Crawford suddenly squeezing his hands harder, he blushed. It was as if Crawford knew what he was thinking.

Crawford released his hand as they were reaching the school. It was not far from the back gate but still it was hidden from everyone's view. The rain was getting heavier and Ran took out an umbrella, saying thank you to Crawford and closed the door to the car.

The American watched the boy's profile intently as he walked towards the gates in the heavy rain, trying to balance his bags and umbrella so as not to get himself or his books wet. He was suddenly hit by a vision.

_Heavy Rain. A boy and an umbrella that he recognised._

_Speeding car. Screeching brakes. A loud bang._

_A scream. Something was being hit._

_And the redhead lying on the street, bleeding and unmoving._

The vision washed through him like it was real and he was came back to his senses. _Fuck!_ Crawford cursed loudly and jumped out from his car, uncaring of the heavy rain and his fogging glasses. He was concentrating on getting the boy out of danger. He saw the car in his vision, and it was approaching rather fast. Ran was looking straight at the traffic light, waiting for the 'WALK' sign to turn green when a sudden strong wind blew his umbrella away. His face was pelted by the heavy rain and in an attempt to catch his umbrella, he lost his focus, he staggered backward as he tried to balance himself and tripped. 

Ran saw a car coming nearer and his eyes went wide in fear. He was sure he would not be able to avoid it… _This is it_, he thought,_ this is how my life will end. Not at the hands of a stalker, but by a car,_ and closed his eyes waiting for the inevitable.

Crawford spun and raced toward the redhead. He leaped forward, managed to grab the boy seconds before the car rushed towards them and both of them were toppling and spinning towards the cement pavement and finally they stopped with a thud. He cursed as he heard his glasses break but he managed to secure the boy's head from hitting the pavement with his shoulder. He could hear the screeching sounds of brakes as the driver of the car lost control, a loud bang as the car hit the traffic light and shattered glass moments later. He couldn't care less what happened to the person in the car, all his energy was focused on making sure that Ran not hurt. 

Ran, who was pinned underneath him, was too shocked to even move but his mind was swirling. Crawford's body was on top of him like he had pictured earlier, when a sudden jolt of pain screaming all over his limbs and he then realized that he had almost been hit by a car. His breathing become harsher as he dimly heard the voices of people shouting and screaming. 

He heard Crawford's voice telling him to breathe slowly and the older man was comforting him, telling him that he was safe. Ran concentrated on that soothing voice and the last thing he heard was a soft curse before his world turned black.


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13 **

Ran woke up feeling disoriented and in bad shape, trying to adjust his surroundings. The bed sheets, the ceiling and even the walls were white and they smelled clean, almost hospital like. He was trying to remember what had happened and trying to recognize where he was. He could hear murmurs and sound of voices that he recognized, but his muddled mind refused to let him think further.

He tried to get up; wincing as he felt the throbbing pain throughout his limbs and moaned when the pain became extremely painful. A female voice, reprimanded him.

"You shouldn't get up..."

"Wha..?" He could hear himself croaking, his voice didn't come out properly.

"You had quite a fall. You're lucky, you should be more careful," the female staff admonished him.

Ran wanted to say it was not his fault; that he had been losing his balance only for few seconds but instead he shut his eyes as dizziness rippled in his head. He tried to open his eyes again and when his blurry vision became clear, he was looking at three pairs of worried green, blue and indigo eyes.

Ran forced a smile towards his friends. "I'm fine," he heard himself croak again.

"You are not fine!" The tone in Yohji's voice was worried and angry. "You were almost run over by that damned car, thank god none of your bones are fractured, a little later and you would be…"

"Come on Yohji…. Stop scolding Ran. He is hurt enough already," He heard Mamoru said as he cut off his friend's reprimanding. Ran felt relief and reminded himself to thank Omi for helping him out.

Ran forced himself to sit only, to be pushed down again on the bed by a gentle and yet strong hands. He turned to see whose hands they were and saw Crawford's calm but yet cold expression. Ran's eyes were downcast when he realized that he almost got Crawford killed too. A glass of water was shoved towards his mouth; he took one sip and then another and then he grimaced, looking away. It hurt to swallow.

"Where am I?" He asked no one in particular.

"The school infirmary," he heard Ken answer. "But the ambulance took that crazy driver to the hospital," he added. "And Oh! That man carried you in here." 

Ran turned to look at Crawford. The man looked like he had just run a marathon. His hair was in a mess, no longer stylishly combed and he was holding his broken glasses.

_It was my fault._ Ran thought. _They are right, I am careless_. 

The school doctor suddenly approached them, and all eyes turned towards him as if they were waiting for medical results, which they were, as the doctor came with a few X-Rays films in his hand. He smiled warmly at Ran.

"You are very lucky. You only suffered cuts and bruises," he said, "This gentleman was fast enough to pull you out of the car's way."

"Can he still practice his Kendo?" Yohji suddenly asked.

He went over to his desk and took out Ran's records. "Of course he can." The doctor gave a soft nod. "All he needs is to rest for at least two weeks, hmmm…" He glanced at Ran, "Your parents are not here?"

Ran shook his head weakly. "Then, I have no choice but to send you to the hospital and get you warded. I think, at least you'll need to be under observation for the first two days. If you still feel pain, I will have to make a thorough check up again."

Ran wanted to protest and he was about to open his mouth when he heard Crawford say.

"I'll take care of him."

Ran could hear the synchronizing of 'e-e-e-e-eh' from his friends.

"No, you're not! I will bring him to our house. I can take care of him," Yohji objected.

Ran wanted to open his mouth but snapped it close when he heard Crawford refuse to let Yohji bringing anywhere but his house. Yohji retorted back saying that he was a stranger and he would not allow the man to take his friend, savior or not.

Crawford was adamant and Yohji was being stubborn. Ran gripped Yohji's hand, successfully making his friend and Crawford look at him and listen to what he wanted rather than what they decided and finally said, "I'll go with him."

"But..." Yohji protested.

"He is my friend. I know him."

"Since when?" Yohji pressed, not giving up.

"He is actually my father's friend," Ran lied. "From the States," He added to further convince the lanky blond. Yohji huffed in defeat. It wasn't that Ran wanted to turn Yohji's offer down but he felt awkward, lying in bed with Yohji's parents and sister fussing over him. 

Ran could hear the doctor talking to Crawford when it was settled that the man would be taking him home. Crawford gave his particulars and his address and heard Mamoru mumbling something about that the address of where Crawford was staying was almost the same as that of his classmate, Nagi, except that it was a different apartment number. A very posh place, he said to Ken. Ran had seen Nagi but he never had a chance to greet Mamoru's new transfer classmate properly. 

Crawford rested his eyes on Ran again while listening to the doctor's instruction on Ran's medical prescription. The boy was trying to convince his friends, especially Yohji, that he would be fine and agreed - or rather, Yohji made him promise - to at least call one of them every day. Ran made Yohji and his other two friends promise not to tell his father about today's accident as he did not want to make his family worry. Crawford noted that the one in brown hair was Hidaka Ken and the other, the genki one, must be the son of Shuichi Takatori. 

He heard Yohji tell Ran that if the redhead needed him, he was more than willing to help. _Like he needed it_. Crawford thought, his eyes narrowed and he did not realize that he was glaring at Yohji

Their conversation was abruptly cut off when Ran heard a shrill girly voice from outside of the infirmary. Ran squirmed.

"Ran-kun! Are you all right? I heard that you were in an accident. Oh no! You're hurt!" Sakura dashed in, ignoring his friends and suddenly grabbed Ran's hand. Ran wanted to pull it away again when he saw the disapproving look on Crawford's face, but the girl was unexpectedly strong and refused to let his hands go. 

"Ran-kun, I can drop by your house everyday and cook," she offered with the sweetest smile she could manage. Ran could hear Yohji snorting and could see Ken and Mamoru gawking at the girl's short skirt.

Ran wanted to say something; he wanted to tell Sakura that he was fine and he did not want to be a burden to her and was grateful for her offer, but he could feel his head getting heavy. The medicine that the doctor had given him earlier was starting to kick in. Ran felt dizzy and he was looking into Crawford's, eyes, pleading for help.

Crawford moved towards the bed. "It's time for me to take him home." He heard another 'Eh' and this time from Sakura and he turned and glared at the girl, as if challenging her to protest. Sakura snapped her mouth closed and moved aside when Crawford hauled the boy from the bed and carried him.

He heard Yohji offer to bring Ran's bag and medicine to his car. He nodded curtly and let the boy's head rest on his chest. Ran had already fallen into a deep sleep. Yohji, still looking worried, merely watched as Ran was being laid down on the passenger seat that Crawford had pushed far back to make the boy comfortable before strapping the belt around his friend's body. Yohji handed over Ran's bag and medicine.

He wished he knew Ran's parents number or his grandparent's house so that he could confirm that Crawford was indeed the family's friend. But now he didn't have any of these numbers and had to trust this foreigner. Crawford, who could still sense Yohji's uneasiness, turned to face the lanky blond.

"He will be fine," he said. "And here is my number for you to reach me if you are that worried." He gave his card to Yohji, who took it and read it immediately. Yohji nodded and said thank you.

Crawford started his engine and began to drive away. A few meters away from the concerned eyes of Ran's friends, he pulled over and took out his cell phone and dialed a number.

He heard a nasal voice greeting him from the other side. "Schuldig, do a check out for Ran in that hotel. Pack his things and bring them back to the safe house. I'm taking the boy to my apartment."

Crawford heard the words 'huh and why'. "No questions. I will brief you later," he said simply. He heard a little bit of protest from the German and ignored it. He knew that Schuldig would do as he said.

Crawford watched the boy's sleeping face and pushed away the stray red strands of hair from his face. He could feel both his shoulders aching. He was not hurt but he was sure there would be scrapes and angry bruises later.

"You are so going to pay for this," he said, changing his car gear to 'D' and began to drive to his destination. 


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

"Scheiße Crawford, you never got hurt like this during any of our prior jobs. First your hand and then this, doesn't that hurt?" Schuldig whined as he watched Nagi rubbing an ointment on Crawford's shoulder. Crawford didn't even flinch. "I got to say I salute you." The German made a mocking salutation towards the older man and moved to sit on the chair opposite and beside Farfarello who was looking at the bruises in awe.

"So, what is this all about?" He asked. "Where did these bruises and scrapes magically appear from on your-oh-so-great-body?"

"Does this has to do with accident in my school this morning?" Nagi asked as he handed Crawford a clean shirt.

"Who told you?"

"Omi. He told me that an American had saved his friend from being hit by a car," he answered. "I figured that it was you since his friend's name is Fujimiya Ran."

Crawford nodded and took the coffee that Schuldig had brought from the kitchen earlier. He took a sip and stared at it.

"That's Irish coffee for your information. Farfarello made it." He grinned. "He said that it is his specialty."

Farfarello watched intently as Crawford took another sip and waited for the man's comment.

"Not bad," he said and Farfarello jumped up in delight and ran towards the kitchen. They could hear the sound of the blending machine and a knife chopping moments later.

"Is it?" Schuldig asked; his eyes wide. "I didn't dare to try it; especially since it's Farfarello who made it." He grinned.

"Make sure you clean the kitchen afterwards," Crawford ordered and carried Ran's bag as he exited the hall.

He could hear Schuldig swearing and yelling at Farfarello to stop making a mess. Nagi had disappeared into his room as fast as he could.

The American opened the door to his apartment slowly, he was sure that Ran was still sleeping. He had to carry the boy and he was lucky that he had his own private elevator directly to his apartment to avoid any curious and unwanted stares. Since his apartment was a one room penthouse, he had placed the boy on his own bed.

The redhead would be famished when he woke up since the boy had not been eating since the morning and now it was almost lunchtime, Crawford had ordered chicken porridge and miso soup for the boy and a medium rare steak for himself. Crawford changed to more comfortable clothes; wearing loose pants and a round necked shirt and waited in the hall for the food delivery. He was about to pick up his clothes when he heard a moan coming from the bed. Crawford took Ran's right hand to check his pulse, to see if the boy had a fever. He put his head on the boy's chest to listen to his breathing. He had cleaned Ran earlier using sponge and warm water and he had only clothed Ran in his loose briefs.

Ran woke up; his blurry eyes were looking at the ceiling. He groaned and winced as he felt the pain in his body. He could feel warm hands resting on his chest before they were gone. He wanted to protest the loss of warmth but his throat was too dry to speak. Instead Ran rubbed his eyes with his hands for a clear vision and he moaned. Crawford took the boy's hand and rested it on his side. Crawford was standing beside him.

"Hungry?" Crawford asked.

Ran nodded slowly, "Thirsty actually," he manage to answer.

The American heard the door bell ring, Ran wanted to get up but instead Crawford pulled the blanket up, covering him. Ran suddenly realized that he was not wearing anything except briefs. He smelled his hands and he could detect the faint fragrance of soap. _Did Crawford bath me?_ _It couldn't be right?_ Ran lifted his head a little higher and could see a bowl, a sponge and a towel on the bedside table. _He did bath me_. _He saw everything._ Suddenly he felt like he could not face the man and wished he could hide his face in the blanket.

"Stay in the bed. I'll bring you something to drink and eat," Crawford said as he spun around and left the room.

Crawford came back few minutes later with two bowls which he held with his both hands. He placed the bowls on the small table, picked up a larger pillow and arranged it against the headboard. He then hauled Ran into a sitting position and placed a sturdy bed tray over his knees before putting the two bowls on it.

Ran suddenly felt ashamed. Crawford was supposed to protect him and not babysit him. Inside, the truth was that he actually liked the way he was treated at the moment. Being the only and elder son did not mean that he was being pampered and especially not by his father.

Crawford sat at the edge of the bed and began to feed the boy. It was hard for Ran to swallow and he began to shake his head, but Crawford refused and forced him to eat at least half of the porridge and finish the soup.

Once the older man was finished with his task, he rearranged the pillows back to their normal position and let the boy slide down and waited until Ran had drifted to sleep.

After almost twenty four hours in bed, Ran woke up again and this time he was feeling a little better than yesterday. He still felt the exhaustion and his joints were still aching although not much as they had hurt the night before, but he could see that the bruises had swollen with a discolored redness around them.

He could hear music playing softly from the hall, a sonata that Ran recognized by the great violin player called Tartini, a haunting but yet beautiful melody. The Devil's Trill. Ran remembered a story that his mother told about Devil's Trill composer. It came from a strange dream that he had had, thatin which the Devil had appeared and told him to be his servant. Tartini then handed the devil his violin to test his skills and the devil begin to play a sonata that took his breath away. When Tartini awoke, he immediately wrote down the sonata, desperately trying to recapture what he had heard in the dream.

Ran did not know whether to believe the story or not, but he would never want to be the Devil's servant. It gave him shivers even thinking about it. He reached out for a robe that he saw hanging beside the bed, and put it on before limping out from the room. He was glad that he could at least walk.

"How are you feeling?" He could hear Crawford ask him from the kitchen.

"A little better," he admitted and his eyes scanned through the apartment. It's a spacious place and Crawford had a good taste in furnishing and decorating his apartment, simple but yet elegant. His wall paintings had that soothing serene relaxant color that calms your mind, with few mixtures of Japanese and American decorations. Ran looked at the oil painting of sakura flowers blooming in spring with the petals swirling on the wall. The painting looked as real as if it were alive.

"Like it?" Crawford asked as he guided the boy to sit by the dining table when he realized that Ran had been staring at the particular painting for a good ten minutes and could see that the boy started to sway. He handed the injured redhead herbal tea that he had boiled earlier.

Ran nodded. "It's beautiful. My father has an oil painting like this in his office, one with autumn scenery." He took a sip and grimaced, his sense of taste, it seems, was still not back to normal but he had found his voice.

"Finish it," Crawford ordered.

Ran's face scrunched up but he could see that any pleading or faces of dislike that he would try to make would not waver the older man's stern expression. He closed his eyes and tried to sip slowly, little by little, grimacing as if he was forced to drink some weird herbal tea.

"I checked out your story," he heard Crawford say as the older man sat down opposite of him, drinking his coffee. "They already caught the suspects. It was not in the news because the local authorities did not want the public to panic," he added.

Ran's eyes brightened. "They were apprehended?"

Crawford nodded, "Mmm.. hmmm, they killed Interpol's most wanted man and there are witnesses." He could feel the boy cheering up. He is telling the truth, Ran saw three of them and two of the suspects were indeed in Police custody.

Naoe had called him earlier but what he did not say was that one of them managed to escape being caught and that person was the one responsible for killing one of the witnesses and now he was free and roaming the City.

Ran was a job. And he would ensure that there would be no hindsight on this one. But then again, there was no harm in having a little 'fun' with it… And somehow, he liked the object of this 'job'. What he liked, he would have it no matter what. He would 'enjoy' this target first.

Failure was not an option.

The one who was free could be useful to him. It would make his plan perfect. He would tell the boy about it and this would make sure that Ran kept staying with him. He intended to keep him and if he was feeling generous he would return him back to his family. If he felt up to it.

Crawford gave a dramatic sigh and opened his mouth, "Yet, that does not mean you are off the hook. One of them is still free and from what I heard he is here." Crawford could see that the cheerful face had turned into a visible tremble and Ran was sweating rather profusely. He quickly got up, moving towards the boy, and caught him before he fell off the chair as Ran staggered to get up.

The redhead was leaning heavily against him and one of his hands was clinging desperately at Crawford's waist, "Do... do you think… that… that he is the one stalking me?" He asked with a nervous stutter.

"I don't know." Crawford lied. Someone else was stalking, he knew that, but that man could not be ruled out since he had probably seen the boy and was searching for him to shut his mouth…. forever. Crawford was determined not to let that happen. "You are with me, and you are safe," he gave the boy his reassurance.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

The stalker was in Fujimiya's house. He was feeling elated, angry and a tinge of sadness. Elated because he was in the object of his desire's room. He rummaged through the boy's wardrobe, took out his school uniform.

Inhale. Exhale.

He put it aside and took out one of the boy's favorite shirts.

Inhale. Exhale.

He saw something else in the drawer at the right side of the wardrobe; he grinned maliciously and took out the favorite piece of what most perverted men, those that were always shown in animes, would love to have.

The underwear. He reached out for the white briefs and held it to the level of his eyes, scrutinizing it as if it were a precious stone and finally he moved it closer to his nose, inhaling deeply and slowly as if he was savoring the most delicious food ever served. The scent of moonflower. And he wished at that moment that his nose was buried deeply at the part where this little garment had to cover. He was already rock hard.

But he put those degrading thoughts far way into the back of his mind. No, his main purpose was not to defile the boy. He would never sully this creature; all he wanted was to keep and to gawp at the heavenly looking angel.

All he wanted was to display Fujimiya's son alongside the dolls in his collection. To see and to fantasize.

If people wanted to know if he was married, he could tell them that of course he is. Did he have children? He had three, two sons and a daughter. Did he live a normal life? Definitely, in fact, he was famous, had a beautiful house, a couple of maids to take care of his home, to cook and clean and do everything. Hey, not that he wanted to boast, but he had his own set of bodyguards and a reputable job.

He was powerful. The best! The respected!

He was invincible.

His sons were both old enough to stand on their own feet and even succeed. So why did he do this? Questions… questions… with no answer. He just felt like it. Maybe it was just a hobby. Or maybe it was his suppressed needs. Or maybe he just liked pretty things, questions that were buzzing in his mind non-stop like killer bees…

One of his sons shared the same interest. But they didn't join forces in acquiring what they liked. They just loved pretty things and each loved to display them in their private world where it was solely for the eyes of the owner.

He had to admit it, he was proud of that son… well, it's an old saying Like Father Like Son and there was no mistake about it.

No one noticed; not even the boy's family, for how long he had had his eyes on their only son. The only daughter was pretty too, wide eyes… innocent looking but there was no thrill in it. It's too common, lame and he… he deserved the best because he was indeed the best. And the best should have the best. To him the boy represents the best breed he had ever seen. He had had his eyes on him since he was seven. He had grown up into a fine young man, blossoming beautifully the glory of youth, not only he had become so beautiful, but he was smart too, always a top five in his school. Only the blind would not realize what a price.

He had made his presence known to the object of his obsession with the last phone call. Initially he had wanted only to look and enjoy the view when the boy was parading around in only his briefs after he had fallen down in the alley. He looked so, yes, fuckable as he had told him on the phone. He could hear the boy's harsh breaths and he was sure that the boy was flushed not due to embarrassment but surprise.

The alley, he was there of course. He had followed the boy closely from the time he came out of his friend's house until he reached the alley. He was almost caught when the boy suddenly felt his presence, he was sure of it, and he had been so scared that he had tripped against the garbage bin and fallen. At that time he felt great.

He let out a mechanical laugh. He could laugh as loud as he wanted to now because there was no one in this house. It's empty, terribly empty…

The boy was absolutely adorable. Then he had wanted to touch, only touch, to feel that smooth silky skin that he was sure about, until a gaijin came out of nowhere.

He felt angry because that gaijin had dared to spoil his plan. It was almost the right moment because the boy was alone and that man had dared taking away the boy far from his eyes and sad because the boy could easily trust a stranger that he met barely an hour earlier.

_Stupid, stupid boy_. He thought.

He wanted to know where the man had planned to put the boy, so he had followed them but lost them somewhere along the busy road. It was as if, the man who drove the Buick knew that he was following.

He retreated but did not admit defeat.

And then the next day, when he had been looking at the boy walking under the umbrella and in the rain, he felt a little nonchalant. He saw everything, the car, how the boy tripped and fell and that the gaijin came to his rescue. He felt angrier as he remembered how the white man had grabbed the boy tightly and they had fallen together. Only he deserved to do that, to touch him…

How dare he?! He would find every scrap of information about that man. That American had to go down.

He was absolutely pissed when he stepped out of the house. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. His mind was again filled with unpleasant thoughts. He needed something that he could discard to relinquish his sudden erection.

Nameless whores would be good. Plenty of them on street, he was sure. No one would miss them, no one would care to find where this one tiny human had disappeared to.

He got into his car, feeling delighted again as he planned the rest of his night. And in his mind there was not even a speckle of doubt that he would find the boy. He had numerous sources of information… The Police was like a puppet for him. He pulled the strings and they talked. Not suspecting anything.


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

It was three in the morning and everyone was sleeping soundly. There was no one on the street that led to the house. A dark-clad figure was walking and humming a low tune and there were no lights on the street. They should call the power company to fix the street lamps. It was eerie to walk alone at the wee hours on this cold autumn night, even the moon was hiding behind the clouds.

Picking the lock was easy; as easy as children singing ABC. Killing is like picking a lock too. It's all depending on skill and the level of it required to execute them.

For homeless, non-essential human beings, she could kill them in a second or with her eyes closed. There was no remorse at all. None for her.

But the best was the challenging type of her mark. She would spend her time to map out her strategy, killing them should be planned; a little work would do, like their routines. What time they get up, whom they meet, who their relative and friends were, how often they met and what they do, some of them were well organized and could be expected, which made her work easier to find which the best time to put them to sleep, for them to never to open their eyes again was. All must go according to her plan, she would strike and she thrived on it when she saw her job well executed.

And her best choice of weapon was her hunting knife. There was no pleasure to kill a human with a gun. In this era, even five years old little maggots could pull a trigger. You just had to show them where to properly put their little tiny maggot fingers and how to pull it. It's just like playing a PS2 or Xbox game.

For her, killing was like an art. Have people never seen how the artists were in such a haste to create their pieces? No matter if it's a normal painting or a masterpiece, they all deserved attention. They would stroke their brushes leisurely, each stroke with perfection and precision. And so was killing, each incision should be flawless. She liked to decorate them. She was a woman after all.

She caressed her hunting knife lovingly.

The last job had a flaw, another witness. Unacceptable!

Her kills in the woods were carefully planned; she was hired to kill by a prominent man to wipe them off the face of earth. That person and her subordinate had made a huge mistake, letting themselves be known to the Authorities and that made the man who had hired them angry; nothing must implicate them.

She preferred to work alone, but the fool had insisted on her having a back up man to do her job. Like she could not be trusted just because she was a woman? Didn't that morons ever heard of the phrase, the hands that rock the cradle or Hell Hath No Fury as a Woman Scorned? It has made her angry but the reward was so lucrative that she could not say 'No'.

She had learned her intended mark's routine, a foreigner and his aide; everything about them. When is their next shipment was, their cargos and their meeting and that they only dealt with hard cold cash. She had impersonated herself as an interested buyer, pretending to check the goods which were mostly children. European, Asians and all other ethnicities. You name it and you got it.

And finally the transaction had been agreed upon and she had made sure she chose the right place for the deal. Far away from human eyes in a serene place in the woods.

Her supposed to be aide had executed one of them with a gunshot and she was angry. She wanted to play with her knife first, and while she had been playing with the other, they had questioned her decision as to why she wanted to use the knife rather than just blow his brains out. It would have made the job simpler.

They just didn't understand. It made her happy.

They had been so busily arguing with her that they had not realized that the noises they made had attracted two unwanted people. That was why she hated incompetent fools with a passion. They handled one of the witnesses, a poor villager who was fishing alone and the other one had escaped. A boy, his age had to be at least seventeen. She had been looking directly at him when she had heard a rustling sound and the breaking of a branch. Their eyes met for a few seconds. She did not need to follow where the boy ran off to. She knew the place very well, where the trail led to and whose house that was located a mile away. She did her homework remember? The only thing that she did not calculate was that the boy would be wandering in the woods at that hour. Two flaws.

She didn't like it all. She had to be punished for the flaws. On the scale her work had to have less than 0.01 percent mistakes. But now with two errors, her reputation was at stake. For that she had whipped herself with a fourteen inches stingray's tail and she had savored each and every lash of the whip as it contacted with her body. She deserved to be disciplined.

She knew where the boy lived in Tokyo; she even called him using a voice that she had recorded to sound like a man's. Threatened him to not open his mouth and that was it. She left it as that after she had learned that the boy could defend himself. A star in his kendo's team. So, she needed to plan.

She was now in the boy's house, tip-toeing through the hallway, almost skipping. She liked the house. She looked at the family portrait. Ah! What a nice little family. The father working in the bank, an honest financial adviser; the mother a pretty secretary that all Bosses would love to have in their office. Not only was easy on the eyes but she could actually work.

The daughter, a petite young girl. She caressed her face and sighed, and she thought that she was prettier than the girl in the picture. She had long dark and thick hair with high cheekbones and an oval shaped face with a set of steel-blue gray eyes. She was definitely far more attractive than that young girl.

She adjusted her eyes towards the picture of the witness. Two words: Barbie Doll.

If she was not older than him, she would consider killing him while they were having sex, using an ice pick as a weapon of choice. Just like that Sharon Stone and Michael Douglas hit movie called Basic Instinct. Seventeen years old was too young for her taste. Furthermore, how could that face be more attractive than hers? It was going to be nice to redecorate it.

She had a big family, once. How could she describe it? What was that term that the psychiatrists used to describe them? Dysfunctional.

Born in the Hong Kong slums, her father was a jobless drunk and her mother worked only as a waiter and with six mouths to feed with a meager salary. Her mother had to prostitute herself to support her children and her good-for-nothing husband. She had two sisters, as pretty as her but they ended up poor and pathetic like their mother. The clever one was her little brother who had left the family as he could not bear to see how their father always abused his own daughters in the bedroom.

She was proud of her brother and never held any grudge for him leaving them behind, she knew that he couldn't have done anything.

And now she could laugh, they were all gone…

She had killed her father when he was too drunk to even defend himself and for what he had done to her, and her mother for being such a whore and because she never listened to her when she cried and begged for her help, and her sisters for being pathetic creatures and letting themselves be their father's bedmates. She killed her father while he was on top of her and the rest of them at the dinner table when they were greedily feasting on the food that their mother had earned from selling her body.

They should have thanked her; she had set them free from the misery.

Her first weapon of choice when she was thirteen years old had been a kitchen knife.

And did she ever tell anyone that she was a master in kung fu and other known Chinese martial arts? So the knowledge that the boy was good in kendo was nothing compared to her…

Nothing at all.


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

It was night, the same time as every night at the Osaka's Police Station and it's very lively. The buzzing of human voices were like bees in a hive, a mix of mutters, curses and questions. Men and women in steel blue uniforms were talking to each other, discussing particular cases to which they were assigned and some were busy listening to the person in charge giving orders, bowing and leaving and some were seen dragging suspects to the cells located underneath of the ninth story building.

She was one of them, in her uniform. They didn't even know that she was not one of them.

She felt confident and smiled as she brushed through the other fellow uniforms; she had no fear walking among them. She was undetectable; just look at how easily she could get in. Tonight she had a plan, a simple but deadly task that she was required and paid to do.

She knew where she was supposed to proceed. She had learned the way in and out and it was at her fingertips, when she reached one of the cells, she stopped. _'Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid, take away our fear of death…'_

There were one or two drunken men thrown into the jail, one of them was whistling at her and the other was calling her pretty ass in uniform in his slurring voice. It did not bother her. She heard them talking to themselves, too drunk to even realize anything. They were insignificant and most important, they were on the inside and she was on the outside.

She looked at her wristwatch and counted down from ten in a breath when the whole lights in the prison cells went off. She knew when the next round to check the cells would be. It didn't matter, she had ample time.

She took her time, adjusting herself in the dark. She knew where the bed was. There was a shuffling inside the cell and a man's voice calling out in the dark. She did not bother answering.

"Who… Who's there?"

"No one," she answered finally and moved quietly and fast, pulling out the knife hidden underneath her uniform.

"You!" He recognized her.

"What are you doing here? You're insane! You not supposed to be in here!" The man exclaimed in a low voice.

"You broke the rule." She said.

"What rule?"

"You let yourself get caught."

"It's not my fault, it was him, he was the one who started to talk."

"It doesn't matter… Now, you will be punished."

The emergency light was gloomy in the corner outside the cell. When the man saw the knife glinting as it hit the light, he staggered back. "No!"

She pushed herself forward and lunged and whispered into the man's ear, "Sayonara."

There was a sound of startled cry, almost like a gurgling. The man's hand reached to his neck and found that a knife was embedded in his throat. She watched him slump down from the bed, one of his legs kicking on the steel bed trying to create noise, but she was quicker than him and kicked his leg far from the bed. She watched as the man's body was twisting and twitching, hands clawing at his neck trying to pull out the knife. She could hear him trying to scream for help but the only sound that came from his mouth was gargling. She had made sure that the knife cut through his vocal cords. She walked calmly towards the man as he dragged himself over the floor, trying to get out of the cell. Stopping near the man, she grabbed his head by the hair and pushed the knife in deeper. She could hear more gargling and kept thrusting the knife forward until the man stopped moving.

She was sure that he was dead now and muttered a prayer;

'By the sweat of your brow, you will eat your food, until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return'

She stepped over the unmoving body and moved to her next target. Once they were both down, she would play slice and dice. When they were found, she would already be long gone.

Sucker…

One of the lady officers was looking at the monitors located on the fourth floor as she entered the monitoring room. She wondered where the man that was stationed here was and felt a little angry that he had left the room unmanned. Her eyes hovered over the clicking sounds from the monitors as they changed their views over all the floors and realized that the cells located underground were dark. She knew that there were a few prisoners there, some waiting for transfer and some put there for being too drunk, those that would be too hazardous to the rest of the public and maybe to themselves if they were left on the street. She could hardly see any movements in the area. She frowned and radioed any other officer stationed near the basement cells. There was no response and she finally took the elevator to see why it was dark down there.

She heard the sound of broken glass as her shoes stepped out on the floor and the only emergency bulb in there in case of a blackout had blown out. Again she used her walkie-talkie and finally got a response. With a huff she told them to put the light back on as the cell was too dark and eerily quiet.

She fumbled over the walls, trying to search for the light switch and there was something sticky and slimy as her hands rubbed against it. Cursing under her breath, she imagined that it could be the doings of the drunken prisoners and that the cleaners had yet to clean the walls.

She finally found the switch as she was groping around in the dark. There was something round and wet, like mucus, hanging near the switch and it was flaccid. She cursed loudly in disgust this time, cursing the useless drunk.

She was still holding the thing in her hands, reminding herself to wash herself thoroughly later. She was about to click the switch on, when the cells were suddenly flooded with light.

She looked at her hands.

It took her a few seconds and in the next moment her screams were vibrating through the whole basement.

On the floor, where she had thrown it, was an eyeball with its infra-orbital fat tissue still sticking to it. It spun and stopped as it hit the other wall, its green cornea staring right back at her.

She turned her eyes away from it and fixed her gaze on something hanging on the other side of the cell and screamed again.

And the worst was when the drunkards were screaming in unison with her.

She walked out from the police station like she was one of their own. Nobody noticed her on the way in and out, her disguise was perfect. She had to fly over to Osaka just for this and now she was on her way back to Tokyo in her first class flight and would arrive at Haneda Airport.

It would have been dramatic to wait and see the police's reaction, but she was on a tight schedule and still she couldn't help but feeling satisfied by the art she had painted on the walls and she felt like celebrating.

She called for the flight attendant and asked for a glass of Romanée Conti, one of the most expensive red wines available onboard. When it arrived, she smiled politely at the pretty stewardess and accepted her drink. When she alone, she raised her glass. "Here's to a beautiful job well done," she murmured and drained her glass in a breath.

The question now…

Where was the boy?

_ prayers taken from Genesis 3:19 (New International Version)_


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Ran opened his eyes. He could still feel that Crawford was still holding him tightly in his arms, or maybe it was he who was clinging to the older man. He felt safe and protected and the assurance that the man gave him somehow had warmed his heart.

He raised his head and could see that Crawford was gazing at something on the wall. In the back of his mind he did realize that Crawford sometimes would lose his focus at random times. How he knew this? In Kendo, focus was a vital point. Each of the participants are taught to notice when your opponent was losing his concentration in order to move in for a strike and make it a winning point.

When Ran saw that the older man was looking at him, he gave Crawford a brave smile. "Thank you."

"Time to disinfect your wounds and take your medications," the older man elbowed him gently before getting up, carrying the boy back to the room.

Ran's face and neck were flushed as he was being carried. "I can still walk you know," he protested meekly, his heart was hammering faster and faster and inside he felt ashamed of himself as he kind of liked being carried by the man.

"I know, but I couldn't stand seeing you limping your way to the room," Crawford said. "I want you to rest more because I think you are going to have a fever," the older man said as he laid the boy down on the bed.

"I am not." Ran stared into the older man eyes and pouted when he noticed the man raise his hand to feel his forehead and took a thermometer from the bedside drawer.

"Be a good boy and open your mouth." Ran knew that he really didn't have a choice and did as he was told. He wanted to ask the Crawford why he was being nice to him. It was something that had been bugging him from the day they had met but the question could never pop out from his mouth. Maybe he was just doing his job… To protect and serve.

That trail of thought seemed to disturb him. He could not explain it, but he felt like he wanted to be protected by this man for the rest of his life. They could call him weird for liking a man instead of girls at his age; Yohji might give him a long speech on those crush things, his family might disown him and his schoolmates might give him weird looks and isolate him.

But right now he didn't care; he knew that he was in love with a foreigner named Brad Crawford. _This is not right,_ he thought. He wanted to tell the man how he felt at the moment, but he knew this was not the right time. Not now and certainly not tomorrow either. He liked the way the man has cared for him. If he told him, would he be rejected? Of course he would and he wouldn't know how to face the man. Crawford was successful, confident, charismatic and rich. No successful, rich, sane man would see another man as their lover and what else, if the confession came from a mere seventeen years old boy like him. It would be much better if he just kept the feelings he had to himself.

Ran kept his eyes on the man that had stolen his heart but his eyelids were too heavy. It was impossible for him to stay awake and he was afraid that if he blinked, he would go to sleep. He suddenly felt his chest constrict, maybe due to the fever he was getting and his breathing becoming irregular. He knew that he had forced his eyes to their limits, but he was adamant to stay awake for as long as he could.

Vaguely he saw Crawford walking towards his bed and raise his hand to close his eyes. He wished that the man did not do it; he wanted to stay awake and watch him. The last thing he was aware of was that Crawford whispered to him in his softest voice "Rest well" and what he was not aware of was that Crawford had bent down to kiss his forehead after he uttered the words.

The older man received a call from Inspector Naoe in Osaka later that evening. His face was calm as he listened to what the man on the other line was saying. The Inspector still believed that he was working with Interpol. Schuldig had tweaked the man's mind successfully as to make sure that information kept pouring in. He wanted to know the status on the case and of course he preferred to let people doing it for him rather than dirtying his hands.

His eyes strayed to Ran who was dressed comfortably in a bathrobe, sitting next to the window with a cup of hot chocolate in his hand. The boy's eyes were concentrating on the TV set, watching a game show of human Tetris and laughing softly when one of the contestants was twisting his rather large body in an awkward way, trying to fit the shape of the hole in the board. He did his best trying to balance his body, making his best effort not to fall into the water, but as the board came nearer, the contestant broke the Tetris board and tumbled into the water.

The boy had rested well and was up after almost five hours of sleep and his fever due to his injury had subsided. He had complained that he was having a headache from sleeping too much and Crawford had helped him up. He even drew a bath for the boy and helped him until he was finished, although the boy had been protesting like a defense lawyer when his witness was being cross-examined by a prosecutor on the witness stand.

The older man even informed Ran's school doctor that the redhead was recuperating and did not need any further check-ups. His concentration was back on the phone conversation he was having, but his eyes never left the boy. He had to choose his words carefully so as not to make the boy suspect anything. Ran was still vulnerable at the moment and he might freak out if he heard the news.

The news were a little unsettling. He did not foresee this; of course, he knew there was limits to his precognition powers. He could see bits and pieces of the future that was about to happen in ten minutes to half an hour but he could not see something that he did not have direct contact with.

The two suspects involved in the killing in Osaka had been found dead in their respective cells the previous day. Both of them had been brutally murdered in their own cells.

Naoe described to him how the bodies were found and how their faces had been badly mutilated. It was as if the killer had a personal vengeance on them. There were still confused as to how the killer managed to get into a tight security place without being detected. Even the CCTVs located on the whole ninth floor building could not point out any suspicious person in it. The Inspector believed that this could not be a coincidence, that those two were killed to shut their mouths. He told Crawford that he had doubled his manhunt for the third man and that he believed that that person was the one responsible in this case.

Crawford also did not believe in coincidence and could not agree more. He tried to keep his questions casual and listened to what was explained to him. He would need to discuss this with Schuldig later.

He ended the conversation with a curt 'thank you' and walked towards his workroom. He knew that Ran was looking at him from out of the corner of his eye but he just ignored the boy. Making sure that the door was locked, he sat down on his chair and pressed the speed dial on his cell phone.


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter 19Chapter 19

Yohji had been bouncing the red ball in the school basketballs court for almost ten minutes. He was supposed to coach the students the right way to do a hoop shoot, but instead he had his mind full thinking of his friend.

It had been two days and he still couldn't contact Ran. How was he and where was he? The cell phone number that the American had given him was either an engaged line or the phone would be answered by that annoying secretary called voicemail. In his anger and worrisome feelings, he bounced the ball hard and it bounced back and almost hit his face. He staggered backwards.

"Are you all right, sensei?" One of his female students asked.

Yohji flashed his smile, showing a perfect row of white teeth to the girl. He didn't like to be called sensei. He felt old. "How many times have I told you ladies not to call me sensei? It's Yotan for you lovely girls and Yohji-san for you boys." He heard the girls giggling and the boys were merely rolling their eyes.

"I'm fine." He finally answered. "It's just that I am worried about Ran."

"You mean Fujimiya-san?" The girl asked. "I heard that he is getting better."

Yohji released the ball that he had picked up and turned towards the girl. "Where did you hear that?"

The girl who was now surrounded by her female friends answered. "Oh! I was in the infirmary this morning, returning the first aid kit that my class had borrowed and I heard sensei talking on the phone in English…."

Yohji did not wait for the girl to finish her sentence and ran towards the school infirmary, leaving the students gaping as he shouted at them to practice on their own while he was gone. He stood at the white door and knocked impatiently. He heard footsteps rustling towards the door in a hurry and the door was opened seconds later.

"Yohji-san, is there any emergency?" The man in the white robe asked him as he opened the door wider to let the lanky blond enter.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to disturb you… But I heard from one of the students that you were talking to the man that took Ran to his house. Where is Ran? Is he okay? When can we see him? I tried to call that man many times but…"

"Calm down… Have a seat Yohji."

"I'm sorry," he apologized again. "I… I was just worried about him; even Ken and Omi are worried too. They have been asking me."

The doctor sat down in his chair and offered the blond something to drink. Yohji merely shook his head and uttered the words "Thank you". His eyes were fixed on the doctor, waiting for an explanation or anything new about his friend.

'Yes, that American guy, what's his name… Crawford did call me this morning. He told me that Fujimiya-kun is doing fine. He has been sleeping for two days, had a fever from his injuries but he is recovering. He did have quite a fall, you know."

Yohji nodded silently. "Did you know where he brought him? Do you have any idea where he is staying?"

The doctor looked concerned for a second, and he was about to open his mouth when he heard hurried footsteps from the corridor outside the infirmary. He turned to look at the door and saw three heads peeking from around the corner. One golden brown, another dark brown and the third a lighter shade of brown. He recognized all of them.

"Why don't you all come in?" He said.

Omi, Ken and Sakura walked gingerly towards Yohji and sat on the bed in the room. All of them were looking at him rather anxiously. He told them the same thing that he had told Yohji and told them not to worry. He would help them find out where the man lived and when he knew he would inform them.

They were standing outside the closed door and Yohji turned to Ken. "I will search for Ran myself," he said.

"How?" Ken asked as the others were looking at him.

"I don't know…" Yohji shrugged. " I will find out, I'll call the Interpol and ask them where that Crawford guy lives. Maybe I could tell them I am a detective working on a case or something," he said.

"You're going to pull a detective stunt? You think they'll buy it?" It's Omi's turn to ask him. 'I can try and hack their system to find out about their employees or something," he volunteered.

Yohji shook his head. "Don't do that. It's dangerous! You could get caught and could be jailed for doing that."

"Errr… Yohji, my father is the chief of police. I can try and ask for his help."

"But if he asked why and you told him, he might think that you are getting paranoid over nothing," Ken argued.

It was Omi's turn to shrug and he said, "Unless you have better ideas..?"

"Is Ran-kun in some kind of trouble or danger?" Sakura who had been listening from the start opened her mouth.

"We don't know. We hope not," Ken answered.

"See, I told you that I can take care of him… But all of you were just keeping quiet when that man carried Ran-kun away."

"You all know how it was that day. That man insisted on taking Ran with him and Ran seemed to be backing that man up. You didn't see him protesting, did you?"

Ken and Omi nodded simultaneously.

"Anyway, maybe Omi could help us. He had the best idea," Yohji finally said and then he sighed. "I have to go back to the basketball court… By the way, how come that you all knew where I was?"

"I was at the soccer field, practicing when I saw you running to the infirmary. I just ran off from the field…" Ken answered.

"I saw you from the window of my class; you ran I ran… Sensei will be pissed." Omi grinned.

"I saw Mamoru-san running, I just followed where he ran off to…" Sakura told them.

"Fine, you two return to your classrooms." He pointed to Omi and Sakura. "You and I will be going back to the court and field."

The rest seemed to be agreeing and started to turn, when Yohji added, "Omi, tell me if you have anything and don't do anything stupid," he advised.

"Roger!"


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Ran broke two eggs and let them sizzle sunny side up. He let them fry for a few seconds before flipping them with the spatula that he had found in Crawford's kitchen cabinet. He tried not to let the yolk spill as he placed them beside the bacon on the plate. He preferred to have a Japanese breakfast but all he could find in the fridge was eggs and bacon.

He was sure that Crawford was not the type of man that did the cooking. His kitchen was in a very pristine condition and it seemed that whatever cookery he had in the cabinet was still shiny and looked brand new.

What a waste.

Ran loved cooking and if only he had the ingredients he needed, even the simplest ones, he could make them a decent and healthy meal. Maybe he could suggest that to Crawford later or he could just go out and buy them himself. The shopping mall was not far away from where he was staying. He could cook the best meals and probably win the man's heart through his stomach with his cooking. Ran couldn't help but snort at himself. He acted just like girl in love with a man.

Talking about Crawford, he was not sure where the older man had gone. When he woke up the man was already out, maybe buying his cigarettes. Last night he couldn't sleep at all; he had just realized that there was only one bed in this apartment. The other room, Crawford told him is his workroom, and Ran wondered if most Interpol agents usually worked at home. Maybe Crawford was some kind of special agent that he did not need to go to the office.

Ran thoughts went back to the bedroom he was occupying now. If there was only one bed, that means, that for the past two nights, Crawford had slept beside him… On the same bed; under the same blanket. He couldn't help but blush at that thought and was grateful that the older man was not there to see how red his face was now.

Ran watched his plate and sighed. He suddenly had no appetite; he wanted Miso soup and rice balls or maybe rice. He had not been eating properly for two days but he had no choice at the moment and he forced himself to eat what he had prepared.

He wanted to call Yohji or maybe Ken to tell them that he was doing fine, but Crawford's apartment had no house phone and his cell phone had been totally irreparable since it had broken during his fall. Actually, it was crushed under the tire of that car. He was totally disconnected from his friends and he hadn't called his family for two days. His parents would be worried about him. Then he remembered that Aya was supposed to be back in Tokyo today to stay with their aunt. He needed to know if his sister had arrived safely and their aunt was taking her from the train station.

He took a quick bath, carefully avoiding his wound. The swelling had gone down and what was left was only redness around it. It had even stopped hurting and he could walk more steadily today. He wanted to go down to the apartment's lobby and use the pay phone to call his friends and his family in Osaka.

Ran laced his sneakers and closed the apartment door quietly as he left. He took the private elevator down and was walking through the lobby of the exclusive apartment building, searching for the pay phone. He was so concentrating on looking for the phone that he did not realize he had knocked one of three men standing at the lobby entrance.

Ran muttered an apology and his raised his head to see who he had knocked and saw Mamoru's uncle Takatori Reiji and his two bodyguards looking at him.

Ran felt his hair on the back of his neck suddenly rise but couldn't help but apologize again to the most well respected man in Tokyo. He did not like this man one bit. This man was a little creepy and Ran remembered that he had disliked this man since the first time they had met at his father's office when he was seven.

"Well, isn't it the little Fujimiya? What a surprise, what are you doing here?"

"Mr. Takatori."

Ran's heart almost jumped and he turned to see Crawford standing behind him with another foreign man beside him. A man with a hair color like his grandparent's cat's fur. Orange. Ran tore his eyes away from the man as he raised his brow and smirked, like he knew what he was thinking.

"Crawford. Nice meeting you here. I believe this is where you stay? Impressive."

"Thank you," Crawford answered curtly as he moved forward and yanked the boy by his arm.

Ran hissed in pain and tried to pry his arm free from the man's grip but instead Crawford was holding onto him more firmly so that it was harder to break free.

"So, Crawford, a new toy I see… And I didn't know that this time you choose an employee's son of mine," he continued and pointed at the redhead. "But I should say; you've got quite a remarkable taste, as expected from a man like you."

"What?" Ran opened his mouth, obviously confused at the innuendos.

"This has nothing to do with you." Crawford voice was icy and he dragged Ran along with him.

When they reached the elevator, Crawford pushed the boy so hard that Ran almost hit the elevator wall but he was saved by the weird man. When the elevator door was closed, Crawford turned to him; his eyes were blazing in anger. Ran cringed and couldn't help but feel like running away but his knees were weak and he almost fell down. The orange haired man helped to steady him and Ran swore that there was mirth in those piercing blue eyes.

"Didn't I specifically tell you not to go out by yourself?" Crawford raised his hand and almost slapped the boy when he saw all color drain from Ran's face. The boy's breathing became harsher as he dropped. Schuldig caught the boy before he hit the floor. Obviously the boy had fainted.

"See what you've done. You big bad wolf, you've got to control your temper. He just wanted to search for the pay phone in the lobby, to call his family and friends and he is not fully recovered."

Crawford gritted his teeth and pressed the number to his apartment level. He knew that Schuldig was right but his ego wouldn't let him admit it, so instead he let Schuldig carry Ran up to his apartment as punishment.

"He is sure heavy, stunningly beautiful but heavy… how deceiving," Schuldig whined as he carried the boy towards the bedroom. "Hmm… I smell bacon!"

Crawford stood at his bar corner and drained the drink that he just fixed, trying to collect his thoughts and keeping his temper down.

"Controlling your anger by drowning it in rum I see."

"I'm thinking." Crawford glared at the German as he closed the door behind him.

"Okaaaay, thinking with rum then."

"You know, I have no idea what you were thinking because you blocked it from me." Schuldig sighed. "I checked the thing that happened in Osaka. Nagi did most of the work actually; he is the genius in this hacking and checking thing." Schuldig made a pause and walked over towards the American. He took a clean glass, waiting for the American to pour another round of rum in his glass and Schuldig's.

"The way those two men were killed in jail, the killer seems have some kind of ritual, always going for the face… There's few killings involving this pattern over the years and none of them were solved. The first one was fourteen years ago. There are also cases of young women and men of that boy's age disappearing in Tokyo for the past few years, which we thought that that pedophile was the cause of since he's been trafficking humans. But now he is a dead fuck and I am sure he can't do any trafficking six feet under."

"There are two different people after him. The stalker and the killer," Crawford said as he grabbed the bottle of rum from Schuldig's hand and placed it back on the shelf. "One of which I know who but not the other. However, we are not detectives and it's not our job to solve their cases."

"Yeah, we are mere bodyguards or assassins hired by people for money," Schuldig slurred slightly. The German had a low tolerance for alcohol. That was why Crawford took away the bottle before Schuldig drank too much and dropped in his apartment. "Three, actually" Schuldig said as he ran his fingers lazily over the shelf.

"Three?"

"The third one is you," Schuldig said as he snatched an unopened whiskey bottle from the shelf and ran to the door before Crawford could react. But he knew that the American let him off easily.


	22. Chapter 21

Warning: Crawford vision is rather vivid……

**Chapter 21**

Crawford entered his bedroom and moved to his bed where Schuldig had placed the boy. Ran's eyes were still closed as they had been when he had closed the door. This was the boy he was hired to protect without causing any suspicions as to what had been planned or who was after him.

He was supposed not to form any attachments to any of the subjects that he was supposed to guard or kill. Everyone who had hired him knew that he was such a cold man and that was what made him good at any of the jobs entrusted to him and his team.

The boy had woken up and when he saw the older man moving towards him, he flinched and pulled the blanket to close his face. He had screwed up and Crawford was angry at him. He whispered 'I'm sorry' underneath the blanket when he felt the bed shift. Crawford sat on the edge of the bed and pulled the blanket down to the boy's neck. He heard another 'sorry' being whispered and cupped the boy's face to make Ran face him. Ran held his eyes downcast, fixed on the blue tie that Crawford was wearing. He could not face the man; he could not bear to see those cold amber eyes that he had seen earlier in the lift.

"You could have told me that you wanted to call them and I would have let you use my cell phone." Crawford said when could feel that the boy began to recoil.

Ran did not say anything in reply, he merely kept his mouth shut. Crawford caressed the boy's face and said, "I've called your school and talked to the doctor that you are doing fine and I am sure he has told your friends."

"Aya..." Ran croaked as he tried not to flinch again at Crawford's touch.

"Aya?" Crawford asked casually.

"My sister, she… She is supposed to be back in Tokyo today… I just want to call my auntie and ask if she arrived safely."

Crawford took out his cell phone from his pocket and handed it over to Ran. "Call her and your parents too," he said as he left the room, "Once you've finished calling them, come out for lunch. I have bought you rice, chicken curry and miso soup."

The American sat down at his dining table waiting for the boy to finish his calls. He had to think. He knew he had to double the security since one of them already knew where Ran was now and it wouldn't take long for the other to find him. Or were they working hand in hand? He waited for any visions that could help him plan what to do next or any clues as to what either of those two were planning.

But the vision he got was not what he had premeditated. Those few seconds of foresight did not throw him off balance, instead it warmed his belly as he felt himself aroused and rock hard. The vision of him throwing the boy down on the bed, rolling the body over, pinning him and plunging deep inside of him and a vision of Ran's skin, flushed, with his long eyelashes fluttering closed and breathlessly calling out his name between the tiny moaning sounds that he was making as his warm body pressed and arched against Crawford's. He felt an incredible mixture of sensations, everything was wonderful and when he was back to his senses, he almost groaned at the tightness of his pants.

Schuldig was right.

He was the third one.

Crawford hid his frightening smile as he heard the door to his room open and with his superb ability, he schooled his expression back to calm and unreadable. He asked the boy to sit down for the lunch prepared on the table while he went to the bathroom to take care of his business. He could just climax by looking at the boy's face.

Ran watched timidly as Crawford passed by him and he realized that the man was moving rather strange. He walked with his legs almost apart like something was stuck between them. He wanted to ask but decided against it, instead he placed the cell phone on the table and tried to finish the lunch that Crawford had bought for him.

Crawford joined him for lunch ten minutes later, looking fresh wearing a blue collar shirt and khaki trousers. Ran realized it was the first time he was seeing the man without his glasses. It made him look rather young and casual. He wanted to say how good Crawford looked but he kept on eating in silence. The man sure knew how to make him endure with his guilty feelings for making a single mistake.

The last toll of the bell marked the ending of the school that day. Mamoru, or Omi, ran through the corridors of his school towards Ken's classroom. He skidded as he saw his friend and almost half dragged the brunette to the corner wall outside his class.

"Omi! What's wrong?"

"Yoh-Yohji… Where's Yohji?" he asked as he panted and tried to catch his breath.

"He should be in the teacher's lounge Why? What?" Ken answered, his voice starting to sound nervous.

"Come on, let's go, we need to find him! I have to tell him something, something important!" He looped his hand into the crook of Ken's arm and pulled the brunette towards the teacher's lounge. Ken fumbled with his bag and followed his friend.

Omi and Ken waved frantically in Yohji's direction, trying to catch the blonde's attention. Yohji saw them and excused himself with a gracious smile from the female teachers he was talking to. His smile vanished when he saw Omi's anxious face as he walked out, nearing them.

"Yohji! I know…" Omi began to yell.

The blond hushed his frantic friend with a finger on his mouth and Omi snapped his mouth shut and as Yohji reached them, both he and Ken dragged the older boy away from the teacher's hearing.

"I checked with my father…" Omi began as he fidgeted left to right. Yohji knew it was a sign that Omi's was overexcited or nervous.

"He told me that there is no man name Brad Crawford in the system."

"How can he be sure?" Ken asked. "Maybe the people who work with Interpol are not listed to conceal their covers or maybe he is an exchange agent just like that student exchange program we have?"

"Ken! My father is the Police Chief. I am sure he would know if there was an exchange agent even though it's not within his jurisdiction." Omi replied and pouted at Ken who had dared to question his father's capability.

Ken raised both his hands up in surrender and looked at Yohji, "Does that mean we let some stranger look after Ran?"

"I knew it!" Yohji exclaimed. "I knew that man could not be trusted. Did you get any address or anything?"

Omi shook his head in frustration. "He is not listed anywhere in the directory."

"Damn it!" Yohji cursed. "I am going to call Ran's parents, see if Ran called and tell them where he stays. Or maybe his sister, she should be back in Tokyo, right?"

Ken's nod was enough for Yohji to confirm that he was correct.

"What we do when we find Ran and that man?" Ken suddenly asked, concerned.

"Don't worry, I can handle that man, the two of you will force Ran to come with us whether he wants it or not." Yohji said confidently.


	23. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

The stalker was smiling to himself as he took a guillotine cutter and cut the tip of his precious CCAMEROONTORO cigars. He placed the expensive roll between his lips and searched for the long wooden matches that he kept neatly on his table beside the well organized pile of documents. He started to light his cigar by holding it at a forty-five-degree angle over the flame and rotated it until the foot began to ignite. The rule of lighting a cigar is to never let the flame touch it; it should be slowly puffed on while it was being rotated around the flame.

He took a long puff of his luxurious cigar and was thinking about the angel's face he had seen today. He knew where he was now, and it had been pure coincidence. He picked up a CD; today he chose to play contemporary music for a change. It was a song titled 'Where is My Boy?', sung by the Coldplay vocalist. He could still appreciate the present music and furthermore Classic was not his taste and it made him feel classic.

_Ran, _The stalker called out the name softly as he hummed the song. He liked that name.

_Fujimiya Ran _He called that name again and again and again like a chant of a religious verse.

He was sure that the American knew who he was but it couldn't be helped that he could do nothing about it. He was an influential man and who would believe a mere gaijin, no matter how rich they were. Here it's all about who has the absolute power.

The boy was too naïve to realize how desirable he was. They say that beauty was the in the eyes of the beholder and it was true. The problem was that all the beholders' eyes could see the boy's beauty and not him alone. He took another long puff of his cigar and stubbed out the rest angrily. He felt his blood boiling as he thought of all the men and women looking at his Ran.

He could kill them all. No, he would dig their eyes out of the sockets for looking at his Ran and then kill them.

He suddenly got up and yanked his trousers down to his ankles. He was fully erect and he bent down, fondling his genitals before he decided to stroke his large throbbing penis while he imagined his angel-face sitting on his large oak table, spreading his legs and displaying himself only for him.

The stalker was unable to keep from crying out as he climaxed as the music ended. He cleaned himself few minutes later and called his assistant to find him someone with red hair to be bedded tonight. He did not care if it's a girl or a boy as long as he could pour his lusts into them.

She sat in the back of the car and lit her cigarette while waiting outside the St Agnes High School car park compound. A few minutes later, a seventeen years old girl named Kanako came out from the school gates and headed towards her. She smiled as she stepped into the white car that was waiting for her.

The driver sped off from the school in towards the outskirts of the city. It was a dead silent in the car and the girl began to fidget. She stared at her silky black hair and wondered what shampoo that girl had been using to keep it soft and free from split ends.

"You have the information," the woman in the back asked.

"Of course I do. I did what exactly you told me," the girl replied.

"And what exactly did I ask you to do?" She asked again lighting her fifth cigarette of the day. She took a deep drag of smoke, and exhaled lazily, looking at the smoke as it became thinner and thinner and dispersed in the air. She could die of cancer… But who cared? It was her lungs and her body anyway. She heard the girl coughing. "You mind if I smoke?"

"No… no… It's okay and I got the information you wanted," the girl answered.

"Tell me…"

"My classmate told me that Fujimiya-kun almost got run over by a car three days ago…."

"That I know…" The woman interrupted. "Tell me what I don't know."

"An American… He took Fujimiya-kun to stay with him."

"Describe the American," she demanded. The girl did and gave her best description of the man.

The woman smiled. Interesting. She knew that American and guess what? She had slept with that man before. Hmm… _He is into boys now?_ Interesting, very interesting, indeed.

And she knew where he stayed even if they were not 'in touch'. She remembered the brief intimate times she had had with him; the man was a tiger in bed. A night would not be enough with him and he had one hell of a strong libido. That thought made her drool and she snapped herself out of it when she heard the girl pose the multi million dollar question.

"Where's my money?"

"Oh, you'll get it; you'll get more than money." She pulled out her .45 Smith & Wesson and shot the girl in the back of her head. The girl slumped forward and hit the dashboard. She stared at the dead body like it was nothing and slipped her handgun back into her purse. She disliked using it, but for a fast termination like just now, it was handy.

"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, you will be missed," she mused. "You know exactly what will happen if you are greedy. Get rid of the body and the car; make sure there are no traces of either you or me. If there is, I will make sure that tomorrow never comes for you," she told the driver as he stopped at the abandoned building about four miles away from the school and walked smoothly over to where her own car was parked between the trees.

_Time to plan and plan carefully. _She knew what that American was capable of and it would not be an easy feat._ D__idn't we love each other once, Crawford? _

Crawford face was expressionless, impossible to read even for Schuldig, stern as always. Farfarello was trudging next to him as they approached the older man in their safe house.

"Killed the boy already?' He asked, testing Crawford's patience.

Crawford glared at him as he put down his cell phone after he had checked the last numbers dialed. It looked like Ran had called his father's cell phone and his aunt but there was no call to any of his friends.

"I smell flies and it's buzzing… But I'll let Nagi tell you. Nagiiiiiiiiiiiii!!" Schuldig shouted from the living room and ducked a sudden flying saucer from the kitchen. Crawford caught the saucer between his thumb and index fingers as it flew straight at him and placed it on the table.

Nagi glared with his blue eyes towards Schuldig and sat down across his so called team mates. He focused his eyes on Crawford and said, "Yohji told Omi to find out about you. They know you are not from Interpol." He paused; waiting for the man's reaction but Crawford only signaled him with his finger to continue.

"Yohji told them to force Fujimiya to come back with them with or without his consent."

Schuldig let out a loud whistle, "That Yohji sure got guts! I would like to meet the man who has the guts to snatch things away from Crawford's hands." He chuckled. "Hey, Crawford, before you do anything to that Yohji, let me introduce myself to him first. Maybe I could dress like a school girl and look eighteen for him, eh?" He pondered.

"You will be one hell of an ugly eighteen year old girl." Nagi snorted. Crawford couldn't help but chuckle at Nagi's comment and Farfarello was trying hard to imagine what Schuldig would look like in a girl's high school uniform and shuddered violently.

Schuldig threw one of the cushions towards Farfarello when he caught another image of what the man was thinking and threw another one at his youngest team member. The cushion hovered in the air before it struck him straight back in his face.

"That's for trying to throw things at me." Nagi huffed.

"The keyword is trying." Schuldig shot back at the boy.

"Do whatever you want." Crawford said suddenly, his voice was serious and all three pairs of eyes were now fixed on him.

Schuldig nodded; he knew that Crawford had just had another vision. Good or bad, he did not know, but judging from the man's tone of voice, he was sure there was something not good coming. He caught a glimpse of the man's vision, enough to make his nose scrunch up.

_That bitch again?_


	24. Chapter 23

Warning : hetero in the chapter

Warning : hetero in the chapter

**Chapter 23**

There was nothing that Schuldig hated more than seeing that woman again. He hated her, no, despised her. She always looked down on him when she was with Crawford and he didn't know why Crawford ever slept with her. He was thinking that the American needed to hook up with somebody else and that woman wouldn't stand a chance.

They were sitting face to face, drinking coffee in Crawford's apartment when Ran came out from room, wearing only a bathrobe. He stopped dead when he saw the man that he thought that he recognized.

"Yes, I am the one you saw in the lobby and I am the man who had to carry you when you fainted in the elevator." Schuldig waved his hand as he sipped his coffee. "Excellent coffee you made, Crawford," he praised.

"Ran made it," Crawford told him not looking up; he was busy with his laptop.

"Excellent coffee you made Ran. I can call you Ran right?" Schuldig grinned. "Hey Crawford, you haven't introduced us."

Crawford took off his glasses, placed them on the desk and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ran, this is Schuldig."

"Schulderich?" Ran asked, not moving from the spot where he had stopped. He had been thinking of having coffee alone with Crawford.

"Schuldig, Schulderich… Different pronunciation but with the same meaning," he beamed at the boy.

"Sit down." Crawford commanded. "This is my partner."

"Partner?" Ran squeaked and sat down awkwardly beside the German.

Schuldig let out a sudden loud laugh. "Not that kind of partner, redhead. We are working partners." _He _could sense an air of jealousy from the boy_._ _He is in love with Mr. Rigid here. Fun! Ran could give that bitch a run for her money,_ he thought_. _

"He's helping me with the case." Crawford explained to the young man.

"Oh…" There's a note of relief from the boy and Crawford merely stared at him. Ran suddenly turned his face away looking at the painting.

"Was there anything you wanted, Ran?"

"Uh- nothing… Nothing at the moment… But I need to call Yohji. I forgot to call him earlier." The boy sounded embarrassed.

"I let you call him later, have your coffee and breakfast and go back to the room to rest."

Ran nodded dejectedly. It sounded like a dismissal to him and he knew when he was not wanted. The boy sighed and thought of how boring the next two weeks would be.

When Ran was out of Schuldig's vision, he turned towards the older man. "It seems that you don't have to work hard at all. He is in love with you."

"Love?" Crawford snorted.

"Oh come on, Crawford… don't give me I quote 'Love...only fools believe in love, and only fools can live for love' shit again. You have been restraining yourself from jumping the boy, if it's not out of love then base it on sex or maybe take him as your conquest," Schuldig goaded. "Naaah! Don't give me that denial shit," he said before Crawford could interrupt him. "I might not be able to read your mind but I can sure read your body language."

"Bed him." He suddenly suggested. "May be you could find l-o-o-o-o-o-v-e," he drawled out the word in a sarcastic tone. "Both ways he is trapped; and after all you haven't had any for a quite some time." Schuldig left the apartment and winked at the older man. He should run now before Crawford decided to shoot him there and then. That he could read from the man's mind.

Crawford snorted as Schuldig left him, "Coward."

"I heard that!" He heard the German yell from behind the closed door. Crawford glanced at his now closed bedroom door. He chuckled and thought how foolish of the boy to think that he could find love with Crawford.

He heard his door bell ring and frowned. He knew that the vision from late yesterday evening was coming and he sighed and moved toward the door. Ran peered out from inside the room. "Close the door and stay inside," Crawford instructed as he held the door knob. Once he was sure that the boy was inside he opened the door and was greeted by a very beautiful and stunning Chinese lady in her tight black golden circled fabric, knee-length cheongsam.

"Long time no see, Crawford," she said as she walked towards the man, making sure that both slits of her cheongsam revealed her long and shapely legs. "Still remember me?' She asked and gave the American one of her seductive smiles.

"Silvia," Crawford acknowledged. "What brings you here?"

"Awww, you don't like to see me? Am I no longer attractive to you?" Her voice had become sultry and she stopped right in front of the man. "Let me remind you how attractive I am," she said and caught the man for a long passionate kiss. "So, am I still good or do we need to have another kiss?"

Crawford heard a hissing and turn to see that Ran was gaping at him, while Silvia was clinging to him with both of her arms around his neck.

"Oh, what do we have here? Your _Twink? _Is that why you never called me?" Silvia pouted and glared at the boy.

Ran stood there and stared at the woman. It was almost like he had seen her before but where it was, he couldn't put his fingers on, but once he heard what the woman had called him, his face and neck flushed. He felt embarrassed and angry at the same time; he knew the word that she had used. She was indicating that he was a young male who had the support of an older male. "Watch your goddamn mouth, you… "

Crawford pried Silvia's hands away from him and walked towards Ran who was suddenly backing away. He grabbed the young man's hands and hauled the boy out from his apartment, taking the elevator one floor down.

"You don't even want to defend me? " Ran finally snapped. "You're going to just let her think that I am your sex toy? Well tell that pretty bitch of yours that I.AM.NOT." When the older man did not say anything, Ran pulled his hand away and raised it to hit the older man. Crawford easily caught his hand and pulled him close to him. "Let. Me. Go." He demanded. "I want to go home!" He yelled.

Crawford grabbed his face. "This is your home and you will stay here." His voice was stern and he pressed the doorbell.

Schuldig opened the door and was not surprised at seeing Crawford and Ran at his door. "Don't tell me," he said as Crawford pushed the boy towards him. He caught Ran easily. "Lock him in, I'll get him later," he heard the man say as he turned, ignoring Ran curses directed at him and the woman in his apartment. _The boy can have a foul mouth when he is angry,_ Schuldig thought. Inwards it warmed his belly, thinking how Silvia could have triggered such a reaction from the shy redhead.

"Have f-u-u-u-n." Schuldig locked the door before Ran could even try to get out. "Order is order, you will stay."

Silvia waited for the man to come back. She already sat with her legs crossed in Crawford's sofa and smiled devilishly. When she heard his footsteps approaching, she spread her legs and welcomed the man back by saying." I am not wearing anything down there you know."

Crawford stepped towards her and pulled the woman up. Instead of stumbling she quickly wrapped her legs around the man and began caressing his lower region with her body.

"Make love to me, Crawford… Like you used to. I've missed it."

"Is that why…" Crawford's words were cut off as she kissed him.

Five minutes later they were in the bedroom, Silvia was nibbling down his body, slowly moving towards his groin, teasing the man in a way that made his penis stiff and hard. Silvia was thinking. _He still has desire for me after all._ With that thought she became bolder and when she was ready she mounted him and let the man's strong and tumescent libido slide into her. "Ahh-hh-hh, deeper Crawford," she moaned.

"Thrust me deeper." She moaned again and let Crawford grab her waist and change their position. She began to move her hips and let the man thrust into her deeper and harder. She moaned aloud when she reached her multiple orgasms and could feel that Crawford had his too.

"That was great, darling. Just like when we were in Switzerland."

Crawford lay beside her, catching his breath. He was not listening to what Silvia was saying because all the time while they were having sex, he had been thinking about Ran and how the boy had sounded when he had moaned underneath him in his vision. He sounded much sexier.

And it was Ran that he wanted to bed.

Bigdfan : Thank you Borderline… (sigh) I know I have planned the plot for the upcoming chapter but Crawford refused to let me go on with that plot so whenever I tried to write nothing comes out But yeah, be patient on that story as I will continue it… I just have to 'kill' Crawford first hahahaha


	25. Chapter 24

Chapter 24 Chapter 24

Ran was like an open book. He was clearly unhappy, Schuldig thought as he left the boy seething by himself and pacing back and forth. The boy was thinking of calling Yohji, asking for his help to fetch him. The German snorted inwardly. _Try that and see if you can_.

"Can I borrow your phone?" He heard the boy ask.

Schuldig smiled lazily, much to the boy's annoyance and answered, "Hmm, that's something you have to ask Crawford."

Ran's eyes narrowed at the answer, "I don't need his permission to call anyone," he snapped. "Then let me out to the lobby! I can use the pay phone down there."

"Nope, no can do, pretty boy. He said 'lock you in' remember?"

Ran begin to seethe more and more and was grumbling incoherently. He wanted to bolt out of there but Schuldig seemed to know his every move.

"Sit down, you're making me dizzy," Schuldig told the boy finally. Ran merely glared at him and went towards the window, staring at nothing outside.

Schuldig turned to see where the boy was from his seat. The sun was reflecting itself on the boy's hair and he thought that red, especially blood red, was such a beautiful color. "You angry with Crawford?" That caught the boy's attention and he turned his violet eyes to face the man. Ran kept his silence and shook his head.

Liar.

_  
_ "I don't like that bitch myself. She is cocky and arrogant and besides Crawford merely does the fucking with no attachments intended," he pointed out.

"Fucking?" You mean that they slept together?"

"Fucking or sleeping together whatever you want to call it… Yeah, once upon a time when they worked together in Europe. I thought that they were an item since that bitch kept clinging to Crawford like a pest. That American must be blind. No doubts about it, she is good in that field since I slept with her too, once. Damn bitch has a beautiful pussy." He coughed loudly, his last few sentences were more for himself than for Ran to hear.

"Excuse me?" Ran frowned.

"Nothing." Schuldig muttered darkly. "I just wonder what the hell she wants, popping out suddenly after all these years. Reminiscing on the good old days with Crawford maybe, or probably trying to win his heart." He laughed.

Ran pouted and turned his face back to the window again. "Who is she?" He asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Silvia Lin. She's from Hong Kong. If I were you, I suggest you be careful when you're around her. She is more than she looks," Schuldig warned.

Ran gave him a confused look. "She is good with all forms of martial arts. Your kendo is no match for her."

"Don't look so dejected… You still have the chance to win Mr. Rigid's heart, Crawford's a bi anyway, and I'm sure he would like to have a dip into that pretty ass of yours." Ran's face flushed at this and he stomped angrily towards the door. Schuldig didn't even bother to get up from his seat because the moment the boy turned the knob open, Crawford stood in front of him.

Ran was momentarily surprised but soon recovered and tried to buy his way out by sneaking to the side of the door. Crawford grabbed his left hand and held the boy firmly; he could see the boy's angry veins beginning to pop as he twitched and turned, trying to escape.

"Stop that!" He heard the man growl and realized that he was no match against Crawford's strength and had to suck it up by ceasing his pointless struggles.

"Finally got some eh?" Schuldig showed his perfect teeth towards the man. His sarcastic remark was rewarded with the slam of the door.

Ran glared at the man. Crawford noticed the glowing of his violet eyes and perfectly understood why the boy was angry with him. His grip became firmer as he dragged the boy in silence back to his apartment.

"Finally finished fucking?" Ran asked. Crawford sighed inwardly, he knew that it must be Schuldig who would have used such a flowery language and had taught Ran how to throw a tantrum by using those words.

"Yes! I am fully satisfied," Crawford answered simply.

"Fine! Good! Whatever! I'm going back to my house. Don't want to end up stumbling over the two of you fucking like rabbits here." Ran snarled and growled, pulling away from Crawford, heading towards the bedroom and took his backpack to start packing.

Crawford had to hide his smile and followed the boy, seizing the backpack from the redhead and throwing back whatever things that were stashed in it. Ran bit his lower lip and glowered. Crawford could have sworn that the boy was almost acting like a cat in its aggression behavior; the difference was Ran has no tail, but if he did, Crawford was sure that his tail would have been swishing against his face repeatedly.

"You are not going anywhere," he said as he kept on holding the backpack in his tight grip when Ran tried to snatch it away from him again. _There he goes glowering again, but at least he is not the whiny type… like someone I know__s__... downstairs._

_I heard that too…_ He heard the nasal voice complaining in his head and he shut the voice up by walling up his mind. _Do that again and I project the heated sex you endeavor with that bitch to the boy._

_Do that and your poor ass can kiss the muzzle of my Walther goodbye. _Crawford replied.

A _tch_ and he was left finally alone with a piqued redhead. It was enough that Ran was behaving like a wife who had caught her husband cheating and threatened to leave the house for the parents', he didn't need an annoying German to make it worse.

Ran's eyes was sweeping through the room, searching for the older man's cell phone but it was nowhere in sight and finally his eyes rested on the tall figure standing now so close to him. He took a deep breath. Crawford's presence was overwhelming and his scent was attacking him from every direction.

"Please." He finally submitted and pleaded. "I can't stay here… I…" He clenched his teeth trying not to splutter the words 'because I like you' or something sounding similarly stupid like that because it was clear that the older man had no interest whatsoever in him since he had a beautiful woman by his side now.

"I am not a man that would turn back on his words, I promised to take full care of you and I have no intention to let you even try to break that. So, I don't give a damn of whatever reason you have right now to just walk away from me."

It was a marvel to see how Ran's emotions changed in mere seconds, just by looking into his eyes. Crawford could see when the boy was happy, angry, and sad and hurt and there was no need for his precognitive power to see it. And now, the boy's eyes clearly showed how disgruntled he was.

Crawford locked the door to his bedroom and approached the flustered boy. Without a warning he grabbed the boy roughly by the collar of his shirt, and pushed him down, which resulted in both of them toppling down on the bed and smothering those pouty lips with his own.

He decided that he liked watching the young man's eyes go wide in shock and confusion and his body gave a pathetic struggle in his attempts to resist the kiss before he relented by parting his lips.


	26. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

Yohji was pacing back and forth on the pavement in front of his house. He kept looking at his watch and the road, muttering to himself.

"Damn! They're late!" He cursed under his breath. Ken and Omi were supposed to meet him at his house ten minutes ago; they were going to go to this Crawford's apartment with his car and drag Ran back with them. He waited impatiently and saw Ken come with his bike and Omi with his bicycle. Ken had a passenger with him. They stopped and quickly parked the vehicles and walked towards him.

"You're late!" He exclaimed at both of them.

"Sorry." Ken apologized. "Sakura-chan here wants to follow and made us wait for her."

Yohji huffed silently and ignored the guilty looking girl who was trudging behind the brown haired friend of his. "Let's go." He told them as he started the engine.

"The flies are coming." Schuldig watched the man disinterestedly. "I'm sure you saw them coming. Ooh, and his admirer is tagging along too."

Crawford adjusted his glasses and shrugged. Not that he cared, he had had the vision of them coming and he was sure that the young man would stay... After what he had done to him, Ran was confused then and he was still confused and now he was brooding in the room.

The German's eyes suddenly went wide and he laughed out loud when he suddenly caught something in the older man's thoughts. "I see… No wonder Ran looks like he is on cloud nine. You kissed him… Well after you fucked a woman. You sure know how to mess with a young virgin's mind…"

"So, while waiting for the entourage, care to tell me what it is that that Silvia chick wants from you… Apart from your good performance libido, that is." He grinned devilishly. "I could hear her moaning and groaning a mile away, you know," he mimicked the woman's voice with a straight face and stared at his so called leader. Crawford ignored the German but Schuldig saw the cocky smirk the man hid behind his newspaper.

Farfarello who was quiet from the time Schuldig dragged him along to Crawford's apartment began mimicking… "_Oh! Aah! Ahhn! Harder! Ahh! Harder! Don't Stop! Aaaaah! I'm coming! Ahh!" w_hile playing with his eye patch.

He continued the annoying rhymes until he heard the cocking of a gun from the table where Crawford was sitting and put on his eye patch immediately, "Beastly Crawford is angry! Run for your life! Beastly Crawford is coming with his big bad gun!" And he was running towards the door, they could still hear him screaming, 'beastly… beastly…' until the elevator door closed.

Crawford holstered his gun and sighed, Schuldig was bending down holding his stomach trying to stop his laughing when he suddenly sat up straight and counted loudly, "three… two… one…" and they heard the buzzer from the reception area. Crawford got up, letting the buzzer buzz for awhile, before pressing the button at his door. "Crawford."

"Crawford-san, there are visitors for you at the lobby," he heard the woman's voice from the reception from the voice box. "They said their names are Yohji Kudoh, Ken Hidaka, Mamoru Takatori and Sakura Tomoe. Shall I allow them to your floor?" She asked.

"Let them up," he answered curtly.

Five minutes later, Crawford heard the sound of the elevator, indicating that his unwanted guests were coming and he opened the door. He saw Yohji storming towards his apartment as the elevator door opened. "Where is Ran?" He demanded from the older man.

He noticed Ken and Takatori's Head of Police's son were trying to look tough as if trying to intimidate him. Crawford rolled his eyes; their eyes were too bright and round to intimidate him. Sakura was glaring at him, clearly showing her hatred towards the American. Crawford stood aside to let them in, his face remained calm and unreadable. He did not bother to reply to Yohji and closed the door.

Schuldig turned his head lazily and grinned wolfishly at Yohji. "So, you are that pretty guardian angel?" He asked and smirked lazily at the stern faced blond. "You know, if you'd smile, you would be one of the most good-looking Japanese hunks I ever met. Saaaay, is your hair down there as blonde as that on your head?" He winked at the man who was too stunned to answer him.

The German got up, stretching his body lazily, prancing in front of the blond and went to knock on the door to Crawford's room. "Hey Ran! You can come out! We've got a surprise for you."

Yohji waited impatiently and when he saw Ran rubbing his eyes as he opened the door, he quickly approached the redhead. Ran squinted. He thought he saw Yohji and began to rub his eyes again and then he saw Ken, Omi and … Sakura.

"Surpriiiiiiiiiise!" Schuldig said to him flatly.

"Eh…" Ran stood there, blinking his eyes.

"I am getting you out of here," Yohji told him as he took his younger friend's hand. Schuldig walked up towards the redhead and slung his arm around the boy's waist.

"Ran prefers to stay here," he said smugly at the blond. Yohji smacked the German's hands away from Ran's waist and pulled the redhead towards him.

"He is NOT." Yohji cast him an angry look and jabbed his index finger towards the German, "I don't know who you are, but that man…" He pointed at Crawford… "is not from Interpol." He turned to face Ran, "Omi's father checked on him, he is not in the Police Force, Ran. He lied to you."

Ran's violet eyes met Crawford's in confusion. "Is it true?" He asked. Crawford didn't even blink, he didn't even respond to the boy's question.

"It is," Omi said from the corner where he was standing. "My father confirmed it to me this afternoon. He checked all the systems and his name never popped up."

"He could be a retiree." Schuldig added and grinned at the boy.

"Retiree, my ass!" Yohji retorted, and his eyes never left the German.

"Are you offering? Your ass I mean." Schuldig raised his eyebrows and gave Yohji his trademark condescending smile. Yohji grabbed the nearest vase he could lay his hands on and threw it at Schuldig who ducked easily. _People like to throw things at me nowadays, eh Crawford?_

"Quit it!" Ran finally yelled at both of them. "I don't understand, why.. Why are you protecting me, if you are not even from the Police?" He stammered slightly and held Crawford's gaze with his.

"Protect you from what?" Yohji asked as he grabbed his friend with both hands, forcing Ran to look directly at him.

Ran bowed his head slightly, "I… I.. Somebody is stalking me and gave me a creepy call last week while I was alone at my house. Crawford was there… near my house at that time… "

"And you decided to call him instead of me?" Yohji eyes bugged out and asked unbelievably. "You don't trust me to help you and instead you asked for what... A foreign stranger that introduced himself to you as someone working for Interpol? Didn't you ever have the slightest thought in your mind that 'He' might be the stalker?" At this point Yohji was shaking his friend furiously.

"I'm sorry. I… I didn't want to involve any of you. I just…"

"You just don't want to see your friends get hurt, but you don't care if your friends see that you get hurt... Is that what you were thinking?" Yohji let go of both of his hands. "Ran! You know I will do anything not to let any harm come upon you or Ken and even Omi. The three of you are the only close friends I have. I have known you since you were four." He sighed and dropped his head. "I know that you were always being _watched_ by people then and even up until now, you're still the center of attention and attraction. But still I am too blind to even realize when you are in trouble."

Ran muttered 'Sorry' to his friend. Yohji's eyes shone, his face showed a huge amount of concern and he hugged his friend. "Let's go okay? You'll stay with me." Ran nodded mutely.

Crawford walked towards them calmly, refraining himself from just yanking the boy away from the blond. He had seen and heard enough of Yohji being overly dramatic just to get the redhead to follow him. How cunning. He would not allow that.

"Ran is under my care," he said simply. "He will stay and we are professional bodyguards."

_And also Assassins for hire, you forget to add that, _Schuldig added helpfully, but only for Crawford to hear.

"Bodyguards? From Interpol to Bodyguards..." Yohji sneered at the older man, "And later what will you say, that you're fishermen?" He shook his head, "No! I am taking him with us, end of discussion."

"You think you can protect him?" Crawford chuckled darkly. "You don't even have the spine to come alone and meet me and instead you had to bring them along." Crawford pointed in Ken, Omi and Sakura's direction. "Did you know that the one who is after him is not only merely a stalker but also a killer? Of course you didn't know. Ran! You didn't tell him about what you saw in the woods in Osaka… Did you?" Ran grimaced, frowned and continued shaking his head.

Yohji was glaring at the man and he looked at Ran who was agitated. He was getting more confused than before, he got the part about the stalker but what he didn't get was the part about the killer. What mess had his friend gotten himself into?

_Bodyguards?_ Omi was thinking hard, he knew he seen that man before, and he had been thinking where he had seen him since they met briefly in the school infirmary. "You!" Omi suddenly looked at him apprehensively, when he remembered who the man was. "I remember you. You once worked with my uncle. As his bodyguard."

"Ping Pong!" Schuldig grinned.


	27. Chapter 26

Chapter 25

**Chapter 26**

Ran's level of frustration and confusion was increasing by the minute; he was currently unsure as what to decide at the moment. He knew he should leave this place with Yohji, break free from this man, and he was frustrated because Crawford had been lying to him about who he was, earning his trust and then what about the kiss earlier? He had been left with his mouth hanging open, his heart had been palpitating like it was about to jump out. He had been left with a satisfied smirk from the older man. _Smooth and sweet_, he remembered the man's remark.

And that was his first kiss.

It infuriated him. It fascinated him. It was astounding. It had turned him on badly.

Yohji had shared his first experience in kissing and he made it sound so… So romantic. But the kiss given to him by Crawford was like… He couldn't have explained it, all he remembered was that he had opened his mouth and the man had used it as his opportunity to invade the recess of his mouth. The man's tongue had been dancing, exploring and demanding but it had also encouraged him to participate. He remembered then how the man had caught his tongue and sucked on it gently. He had been in a daze, he had felt like heaven and few seconds later it had ended.

He actually wanted to ask Crawford face to face what his kiss had meant. He felt that even they kissed, Crawford still had a barrier between them that Ran was unable to penetrate and Schuldig had decided to come and interrupt them by inviting himself into the apartment. His timing sucked. Then, to make thing worse, Yohji had to show up, spilling the truth about Crawford, not to mention Ken and Omi trudging along, but Sakura? He didn't understand why that girl had to come along.

Ran shut his eyes and took a long deep breath when Yohji held him a little longer before he released him. He heard both Yohji and Crawford still at each other's throats; Yohji was questioning the older man and his purpose for insisting to keep Ran here, questioning him why he had left from his work as Takatori's bodyguard, accusing him of some wrongdoings that might suggest the reason why his team was pulled off from the job and Yohji would not bulge from where he was standing until Crawford answered him. He also wanted to know what the older man knew about his stalker and the killer. Ran sighed. Schuldig was watching him with a huge amount of amusement on his face and…

"Ran is staying here with me and it is not negotiable."

He opened his eyes when he heard the older man saying it, but he was almost taken aback when he saw that Sakura was approaching him with her long sure strides. He couldn't deny that the girl sure was attractive; she was wearing a pink top that revealed the outline of her full bosom and a pastel floral skirt that Ran was sure she had rolled up around her waist to make it above her knees and to show off her legs. Not only she was beautiful, she was also a good cook. Ran knew that the boys in their school had their eyes on her, but the only thing that turned Ran off about her was that she looked almost like his sister and there was also the recent problem of his fascination with an American named Crawford.

Ran crossed his arms over his chest and his left foot was tapping on the floor nervously. He became even more uneasy when every pair of eyes was on them and both Crawford and Yohji had stopped talking. Sakura was locking her eyes with his.

"I am in love with you," she said and everyone in the apartment was staring at her with their mouth agapes except for Crawford and Schuldig. He could hear that Schuldig was saying something in German at Crawford. His mind was fighting away the sense of panic that washed through him, he was at a loss for words and all he managed to utter from his mouth with that sudden declaration was 'Uh'.

"I said I am in love with you, Ran." She repeated and she was determined that Ran could hear her loud and clear. "I have been admiring you from the first time we met in elementary school and until today I have been keeping my crush a secret, but…" Her eyes began to fill with tears. "I know this is not the right time with whatever things that has happened to you, but I want you to know that I…" She wiped away the small tears welling in her eyes. "I really… really like you." Her eyes were sparkling as she talked, "I am crazy about you, can't you see that?"

"I…" Ran began to stutter and tilted his head to look at the rest of the current occupants of the apartment. He could see that Schuldig was chuckling, Crawford did nothing except stare at him with that firm and calm face of his. Yohji, Ken and Omi were too stunned to say anything. He took another deep and long breath and took Sakura's soft hand and she could feel her hands responding to him. "I… I am flattered and I do appreciate how you feel but…"

"But..?" He could hear disappointment in her voice and she began to push for his explanation. She stood unmoved in front of him and her eyes were looking straight at his face. She looked vulnerable and sad and Ran wished that he would have had the guts to reject her feelings directly. He took another deep breath for the nth time that day. He had to do it now or never.

"I'm sorry," he said, his eyes finally rested on the girl in front of him. "I…" He wanted to say something that wouldn't hurt Sakura's feelings but he could not find the right words. It seemed like hours that Ran was trying to pull out an answer for Sakura's confession. Yohji decided that it was time for him to intervene.

He took the younger man's arm and pulled him to the corner where Ken and Omi were standing and turned to give the young girl a 'don't- worry- brother- Yohji- will- help- you- out- with- this' glance, "Why are you hesitating?" He asked, whispering. "Why are you afraid of to fall in love with her? She is a nice girl, she cooks for you every day without asking anything back and besides where could you find a girl like her in this city?" He said, pointing at Sakura. Ken and Omi were frantically nodding their heads together. Ran had known all along since primary school that Ken had a secret crush on Sakura even though he had never admitted that out loud. He wished that Ken could have admitted his feelings towards Sakura earlier so that he would not have to face an awkward moment like this.

Ran felt a sudden weariness overcome him. He tried to smile at Yohji and wondered how he could change the subject. As a sane young ordinary boy, he should have been jumping happily with such a confession, but he is not that young ordinary boy anymore and how could he tell Yohji, Ken and Omi or even her that he is actually in love with someone else, a man. He heard a lot of men desiring other men, the myth of it… About experimenting. Did his feelings coming out of his curiosity and was he just experimenting?

Schuldig decided that he had seen and heard enough and began to nudge Crawford's arm and the older man responded by nodding his head once. Schuldig was grinning wickedly as he stepped forward to approach Sakura and whispered into her ear, but he had made sure that Ran could hear every word he was going to say to the girl. "Too bad, young lady, he is in love with someone else." He gave her the punch line. "You're too late." He turned to Ran and Yohji, who was gaping at him. "Whaaat?" He asked. "I cleared you off this hook, didn't I, mein Süßer?" He chuckled wickedly when he saw Sakura run away from the apartment in tears.

"So, would anyone of you like to chase after her and comfort her? Except you of course," he winked at Ran.


	28. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

The stalker was in the house again.

He was strolling through the hallway towards the angel-face's room, lying on his bed like it was his own. He didn't check the time but he knew it was late. It was cold outside. The house was very dark and quiet, the way it had been for the last week. The sister was at their aunt's house and the house was left with nobody to attend to it. Poor little house_. Don't worry, you will be full of people again when they come back, they always come back, you know._ It would be sad to destroy such a beautiful house with such a nice, happy family living in it.

He decided that he liked the boy's room very, very much and etched it into his mind, every little detail of it. There were little shelves with books and mangas. He checked out the books that the boy was reading; a few historical novels, some thriller novels and financial books were arranged neatly in an alphabetical order. One novel he noticed that the boy liked to read, mostly due to the fact that the pages were worn out, was called Musashi written by Eiji Yoshikawa. He turned his eyes to the lower tier of the shelf, and saw the complete set of twenty-four volumes of Musashi no Ken, a kendo manga, and another complete set of Slam Dunk, Bleach and… Well, well, well… Look what we have here, the five volumes of Honjitsu no Neko Jijou, about a family and their cats… Cute, very cute. A very different taste from the little sister, who had her own complete collection of romance novels and shojou mangas in her bedroom. The boy was definitely neater and tidier than his sister.

He would arrange the room for the boy exactly like this; and angel face would feel like home. Home sweet home. He would buy everything, every single little detail in the room, even the Transformers poster that the boy had glued on the wall facing his bed, his Gundam figurines and he would lock the boy into that room made of glass, just for him to look at and marvel over until the end. Yes, just for him… The boy had been born for him only.

May be it was time to lure that pretty little cat out of the bag. What should be the bait, a big fish perhaps? His parents could be the big fish. Here kitty-kitty, here's a big, yummy, delicious fishy for you. His lips crooked into a smile. That sounded a good plan for him. The plan was to call the parents back to this house. When the parents were back, he would be back, away from that man who was keeping him in his apartment. He should be well on his way going to goddamn hell. If this didn't work, hmm… Where did he hear this phrase before…? What would a player do, if he had no cards to play, but he still wanted to stay in the game? He would cheat of course.

But first, he had to get rid of that American… No, he was not going to kill him; he knew that his capabilities could not be compared with that man's. The man was extraordinary, different from others… Dangerous in his own way and he could be cruel and cold blooded when he wanted to be. Somehow, somewhere he respected that man when he had been working for him. Efficient, calculating and manipulative and he knew that the man could see a bit of the future. His German partner had a gift of knowing what people were thinking; a telepath if he was not mistaken and the deranged Irishman could not feel any pain while the lost Japanese boy had the power to move things with his mind. _What is the scientific term of it?_ He thought for a second. _Aaah… Telekinesis._ If they were not bunch of freaks, they could call themselves Fantastic Four…, oh wait! That name was already patented under Marvel Comics… Maybe the Freaky Four… But well, those freaks have their advantages. For example, the American knew the future, that's why any assassinations attempt towards him always failed. _Boo hoo.._

The very reason why the American had decided to quit was because of that German fool of his. He had screwed up during one of the jobs, and as employer he had the right to punish those who failed. So he had decided to discipline that unruly, ingrate German by hitting him with his golf club. The American said nothing when he had seen it but later he received a resignation letter and the American got his team out of his mansion that very evening. What had been wrong with his method of disciplining? _Prude! _He wondered what had happened to the rest of that freaky entourage, the crazy Irishman and the anomalous Japanese boy. Who had employed them? The big question was… What was the connection between Fujimiya's beautiful son and the American? Was it coincidence that they met or it was preplanned? Knowing the way the American thought, he was sure that it had been very well deliberate. We'll see about that…

He had little knowledge about the American's background and so about the rest. The only thing he understood and knew was that they were highly recommended by his fellow high-class society friends. Hearsay had it that they were good and they had proven themselves to be.

The question was now, how to beat them? There would be a way and there was always a way. What about that sexy Chinese woman that had gone to the American's apartment? So, that man was still having penchant towards woman. Did this mean that his angel face was safe? He knew that it wouldn't be for long because his angel face could turn out to be a slut by himself, just like a cat when they were in heat. _Bad little one. Don't worry, I wont let anyone_ corrupt you_, you can trust me on that… _

It was easy to get information about the man's activities from that little overly busty woman that sat at the reception desk. Nice little compliments here and there and a couple of papers with Natsume Sōseki's_1_face on it had done the job nicely and when she knew who he really was, she couldn't wait to pull her little panties down for him. _That could be arranged… _

Takatori Reiji nodded to himself as he cleared up his existence in the boy's room. Nothing must be left, not his fingerprints, not even a fiber of his hair… Nothing must be pointing towards him. _Hey! For everyone's information, I watch CSI too, you know… _And he never missed one episode of the series. So he knew that the police could not outsmart him… And that included his brother, who was the chief of police.

_1 __Natsume Sōseki__ portrait was featured in 1__000 yen note_

_AN : The next chapter will contain a mature content, the awaited Crawford's vision of Ran. _


	29. Chapter 28

Hmmm... warning : This chapter contains very mature content.

Chapter 28

**  
**Ran merely watched Schuldig in disbelief and gritted his teeth as Yohji, Ken and Omi went after Sakura who had run off through the door and to the open elevator. He wanted to go with them, but Schuldig had caught his arm and shoved him back to Crawford. "Broken hearted girls sure can run fast, eh?" The German said to no one in particular… "Well, at least the annoying flies have buzzed out of this apartment…"

Schuldig rubbed his hands together trying to warm them and gave the American a condescending look. "You do know that Japan sells thermostats, don't you? It is bloody freezing in here." He shivered slightly. "So, I am leaving the two of you to unhide the hidden feelings, while I try to get warm with…" He paused, "Maybe Farfarello, or not," then he shrugged to himself, "Or maybe I could just go and play with that lanky blonde, he looks good. Make sure you both lock the door, eh?"

The American did not say anything but Ran was sure that he blushed all over from his face to his neck. He did not know whether the blush came from how angry he was feeling now or was it from being embarrassed when Schuldig had blurted the truth about his feelings out now? He was so busy trying to calm himself that he realized too late that the older man was standing right in front of him and raised his hand to cup Ran's cheeks. He could feel that his face and neck were now in full throttled red mode.

"Is it true that you are in love with someone?" Crawford asked. His thumb was stroking the side of the boy's cheek and the other was touching his hair, it was a wonderful feeling, and Crawford felt like his body was going to convulse any moment just by looking into that pair of innocent violet eyes.

"May I know who?" He asked, though he already knew the answer. He was one hundred and ten percent sure of it.

_It will be now or never_, Ran thought. Putting the thoughts of rejection aside, he braced himself and put his arms around the older man and kissed him. It did not surprise the older man but he played along by faking his surprise as Ran's soft lips touched his. Ran's kiss was awkward but he was determined to make it right. It was gentle at first, before it became firmer. Crawford found that it was rather sweet of him trying to be dominant.

"You will regret this," he warned the boy, when he pulled away for a breath. The boy's pouty lips were swollen, Ran did not look away as he shook his head, refusing to think of anything. All that mattered now, was that he wanted the other man know how he felt. He was crazy, madly and deeply in love with him. "I am not afraid," he said.

Crawford smiled inside and grabbed the boy roughly by the collar of his shirt and shoved him hard against the wall. He clutched the silky red hair with his left hand; his other free hand was quickly securing the boy's waist firmly as he pushed himself forward, positioning one of his legs in between the boy's, separating them.

Ran was gasping; surprised at the sudden movements and he could sense a hint of panic and maybe fear judging from how the boy's body that trembled due to his roughness. Crawford knew what to do next and without wasting time he pulled the boy's head up and kissed him again, and this time the kisses were more demanding and forceful.

They moved to the bedroom, Crawford hands expertly removed his clothes and the boy's, leaving a trail of garments behind them. Ran did not even protest when the man reached for the last piece of fabric on his body, instead he wiggled slightly to get the briefs out of the way and when Crawford successfully slid them off down his legs, the man threw them somewhere in the room. As they reached the bed, Crawford carried him roughly and pushed him down on the mattress.

Ran saw Crawford lean over towards the nightstand and grab a small tube from the top drawer. He knew what it was and he wondered briefly… His trail of thoughts was lost when the man was nipping his collarbone and he began to cry out when Crawford's mouth found his nipple. He wanted to hide his face with a pillow or hands to muffle the noise he was making just by being touched by the man but his hands were grabbed by the older man, holding them still in one place.

"Let me hear you," Crawford said. "You have a nice voice."

"I… I… aaaah-hh. Craw-ford… I… " He groaned as the older man went lower and lower. Ran suddenly arched his body and whimpered loudly when Crawford took all of him into his mouth and was slowly circling the tip of his penis with his tongue. His fingers were clenching, grasping and he pulled the man's hair. Crawford would be bald if he kept on pulling at the man's hair like that.

Ran knew he could not take it anymore, he was moaning and groaning, his body was shivering, it was that good and this is the first time someone had so boldly done this, it was exhilarating. It didn't take too much effort from Crawford to make him reach his climax. Ran let out soft shout as he reached his first orgasm in the man's mouth. _I have died and gone to heaven_, he thought.

Ran's eyes were closed as he breathed heavily trying to calm himself. He could still feel Crawford's lean as it was body pressing against his, and he could also feel the man's erection poking against his belly. He braved himself to look down but whimpered in fear when he saw the size of it. His mind was swirling in panic, but Crawford gave him a kiss of reassurance, calming him with his words.

"I won't hurt you," he promised. Ran nodded once and unconsciously parted his legs as Crawford encouraged him with more nipping and kissing. Crawford stopped his trail of kisses when he reached the boy's thigh, sucking on that creamy pale flesh, and Ran gasped when he felt Crawford biting harder.

Crawford smiled to himself, satisfied that he had left a visible mark on the boy's thigh and he was sure that it would take days for it to fade. It was time to prepare the boy as his main course. He took the small tube and squeezed the rest of its content in his palm and the empty bottle went flying somewhere.

He smeared the cool gel on his hard erection and positioning himself between Ran's legs. He had to calm himself a little because all he wanted to do now was to ram into the tight virgin passage to his heart's content. He took a deep breath and covered the redhead's mouth again, trying to distract him with his urgent kisses. His penis was searching… searching and as it found the place, it began to breach.

Ran wheezed at the sudden intrusion. He felt like he was being torn into two and began to whimper, but all the sounds were drowned by the older man's mouth. His hand grasped the silky sheets beneath him and he knew he grasped it hard and erratic enough that his hands were entangled between the now torn bed sheets. Crawford stopped his intrusion slowly and pulled his mouth away; Ran was whimpering and pleading for him to stop. It really hurt.

Crawford clasped the boy half erect member with his lubricated hands and began to stroke it gently. Ran's face changed from pained to dazed and he mewled slowly as Crawford licked, nipped and began to explore his skin from the back of his ear to his mouth using his tongue. His breathing became harsher as Crawford stroked him harder. Crawford pulled his erect penis away gently before thrusting it in again one hard push.

Ran screamed.

First time always hurt and it hurt like hell. Crawford quickly calmed the squirming body underneath him with his hands. He nibbled at the boy's lower lip which was now trembling and gently stroked every sensitive part and all the erogenous zones that he could think of, he planted soft kisses up and down around the neck, running his tongue again from the base of his neck, over his Adam's apple and up to his chin. He caught the boy's right nipple, swirled his tongue around it, sucking on it slowly and when he caught the left nipple to do the same, he could hear the boy's breath hitch and he began to try once again, easing himself in slowly now. He knew that Ran was fully stimulated and he did not stop pushing himself into the boy until he was buried deep inside of him.

It was beyond his expectations as his penis began to slide in and out with little ease as the boy was too tight. It was heaven.

He began to move slowly, he could see the trails of emotions on Ran's face as he thrust again and again; the brief wince of pain, and the small cries that escaped between his lips and both the boy's hands were buried deep in his hair. At this moment, Ran's face was an epitome of perfection. Beautiful, exquisite and incredibly desirable and yes, he was goddamn fuckable. All the good descriptions and this moment were exactly like in his vision. No more and no less.

Crawford was in a state of bliss as he thrust again and again, enjoying every cry of pleasure, every small whimper and every tiny moan and the man was trying hard, in fact very incredibly fucking hard, not to end this session of the Ran's first experience early and he felt as though he could never get deep enough inside the boy. He managed to control himself from reaching his own orgasm.

It was unbearably maddening.

The face of the willing body pinned underneath him was in pure ecstasy as he hit the right spot again and again. Ran's long eyelashes were fluttering close, his pale skin was flushing and he was moaning and whimpering in between his incoherent murmurs and pleading for more as the tip of Crawford's male hardness hit his prostate repeatedly. The boy was caught in a fierce wave of pure pleasure and it aroused Crawford more and more.

Suddenly Crawford thought about the stalker and what that man had planned to do, or what he might to do to him. '_Too bad you're too late, this is mine, mine and mine alone,'_ he started to pound harder and harder at the thought until he could hear Ran wail his name in a frenzy; his body arching against Crawford's broader one in sensation. Both hands were clenching at his shoulders as he moved his hips to feel more and screamed before he finally wet both of their bellies with his come. The American finally lost it in a fountain of spilling pleasure and poured himself into the boy's body.

He was panting heavily. Never in his life had he come as violently as today, not even when he was in bed with the self proclaimed insatiable tigress. It was frightening. It was exciting. Ran, something innocent like a sacrificial virgin, his body had never been touched, not even by himself. Every inch of the boy's body was sensitive to his touch. Crawford almost laughed smugly at the thought that he was the boy's first man.Tonight marked that Ran had ascended from a boy to a man. A very desirable man.

Crawford watched Ran's content and sated sleeping face intently. His eyes wandered to the bite marks that he didn't even remember that he had put on the young man but he was sure proud of the various marks and bruises made by his mouth and hands from Ran's neck, down to his shoulder blades, his chest and between those smooth pale thighs and he stroked the boy thighs up and down. A truly state of the art for lust as he marveled and played it in his mind again and again, how he had been between these two beautiful legs a few minutes ago, deep inside the boy. He could feel his motor running again and decided to get a good shower.

"You're trapped with me now," he whispered slowly as he caressed the flushed sleeping cheek. "There is no way in hell I will release you until the end of my breaths. Remember the vow, till death do us part? I am man that live by it." He chuckled when he heard Ran grunt in his sleep as if he was agreeing with him and moved towards the bathroom to clean up.

He did after all warn the young man that he was going to regret this decision.


	30. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

Crawford locked the door of his bedroom securely from the outside; he had left drink and food on the dressing table for the young man when he woke up. He decided that Ran had been locked in his apartment long enough and decided to bring him out for the fall foliage festival at Arishiyama Park in Kyoto.

"That's sounds like a date to me," he heard a nasal voice greet him from behind. Schuldig sashayed towards his table. He was in the one of the franchise shops located at his Condo's lobby, sipping his black coffee and enjoying a light snack. Sex did require a lot of energy.

He adjusted his glasses and sighed quietly. There went his quiet evening.

"Ho-ho-ho…" Schuldig started in a bad imitation of a Santa's laugh. "I left the two of you to talk, and instead you 'talk' with your mouth, hands and…." His eyes wandered to Crawford's crotch and he whistled. "He sure will wake up very sore, but satisfied." He gave a jealous pout at the older man, "How come I never get any from you, eh Liebchen?"

Crawford refused to play along with Schuldig's personal jokes and raised his hand to call the waiter. A petite young woman walked as fast as she could to the gentlemen's table and took out her pen.

"I have a pen if you don't have one." Schuldig winked and the young woman blushed.

Crawford rolled his eyes. "Order what you want," he told the German.

"Me? You are talking to me right?" Schuldig pointed at his own chest and looked around to see if there was someone other than him that Crawford had generously offered to pay for the food. Crawford glared at him and the waitress was giggling slightly.

"Please excuse me…" He grinned at the girl. "This bad boy has never in his life let me order anything and paid for it. The world is going to end." He sighed dramatically and ordered this one type of spaghetti with an olive oil base that he found so hard to pronounce, a cup of peppermint mocha, a glass of plain water and while he was at it he added a few different types of muffins.

"As long as you paying for it, I might as well order the whole menu." He beamed when Crawford was looking at him questioningly.

"Did you get the tickets?" The older man asked as Schuldig carefully stole the gingerbread from his plate.

"You mean, the tickets for the Chushingura at Kabuki-za tonight? Of course I got them," he added and handed the man an envelope. "You think Ran will enjoy a stage filled with heavily made up actors and actresses to play a tale of revenge and loyalty in his age? I thought Kabuki is meant for the old generation and refined young ladies."

"He will…"

"If I dated him that would be bizarre." He grinned. "I would prefer to bring him to those head banging concerts. It more suited for his age."

"It suited you, not him."

Schuldig laughed merrily and gave a slight bow as a thank you gesture at the young lady who brought him a tray of food and drinks. "I also reserved a honeymoon suite for you at Rihga Royal. You sure spent lavishly for him." He scrunched his nose as he munched the banana walnut muffin and sipped his mocha.

"I do what it takes to make sure things run smoothly." Crawford said and watched the German carry his spaghetti plate and take a long deep breath and exclaim, "Food! You think I can order for Farf and the chibi?" He asked.

Crawford nodded and Schuldig rubbed his hands in anticipation.

"What happened to his friends?" He asked the eating man. "They didn't come back to my unit when they got down."

Schuldig waved his hand and once he had finished chewing and swallowed, he answered. "They were so busy comforting that rejected girl that they totally forgot the main reason why they were here. I am sure they are sending her home… And are busy deciding on a new plan on how to get back the redhead. The I-love-you confession from the girl didn't seem to work. You should see how heartbroken the girl is." He continued his munching.

Crawford nodded and called for the waitress, "Eh…I am not done yet!" Schuldig said with his mouth almost full.

"Take your time," Crawford said as he took the bill and handed her few ¥10,000 notes, "Keep the change," he told the girl and Schuldig almost spurted out his food.

"Ran sure changed you… Either that or that boy gave a really good service," he said softly.

"What did you say?"

"Uh… uh… nothing. Ignore me. I am just… happy." He waived his hand. "Enjoy your vacation."

Crawford unlocked the door to his apartment unit. He could hear the bath running from his bedroom. Ran had woken up. He strode towards his room and opened the door. The bed was still in a tangled mess and he could still smell the scent of their lovemaking earlier.

The bathroom door opened and Ran was startled to see the older man in the room.

"You locked me in from the outside." Ran said and his lips were thinning, showing his displeasure as he walked past the man with only a towel tied to his waist. Crawford noticed that Ran was limping slightly; he was not sure whether the limp was from his previous injury or because of their workout session earlier.

Crawford caught his arm and pressed both their bodies together. He could feel Ran's center of being respond and chuckled. Ran tried to hide his nervousness by busily retying the towel. "It's not like I have not seen everything of you", Crawford whispered into the young man's ear. Ran could feel the hairs in the back of his neck stand on ends at the whispered words.

"Stop... Stop trying to change the subject," he stuttered and Crawford held him tightly in his arms.

"I have to; to make sure that no one disturbs you… Are you still sore down there?" He asked casually.

Ran knew that he was blushing furiously at the question and nodded his head slightly.

"I'll make it up to you." Crawford said. "How do you feel about going to the Kabuki-za tonight to watch a play? Then we could drive to Kyoto for the autumn matsuri."

Ran's face lit up at the suggestion. _It is like a date_, he thought and the idea of dating a man like Crawford was intriguing, he would have Crawford all to himself and he couldn't wait for the evening.

"But before that." Crawford smirked evilly at the boy. "I would like to check my handiwork on your body," he said and pulled off the towel from the redhead and watched in amusement as Ran yelped in surprise and tried to hide his member with his hands.

Crawford pulled his hands away and cradled the young man's scrotum and gently fondled him. The towel was totally forgotten as Crawford pushed him slowly back to the bed.

He reminded himself to call for the housekeeper available for any service to the apartments to clean his room. _We could take a bath again_, was the last thought in Crawford's mind as he unbuckled his belt and got to work on the eager body underneath him.


	31. Chapter 30

Chapter 29

**Chapter 30**

Sylvia was seething to herself. Crawford had gone for a rendezvous with his new boy toy, the one that was also her next target.

"Bloody hell." She cursed to herself and threw the knife and watched it in satisfaction as it sprang towards her apartment door. She was about to lure Crawford out so that she could deal with the goddamn nuisance and she also had a mission, to win Crawford's heart. She cursed again loudly and threw everything between her visions.

Schuldig had refused to tell her anything and had replied with the most annoying words, like _hi-mi-tsu _in his irritating nasal drawl and had suggested that he could be a replacement bedmate for her. _Che_… he was not even half the man that Crawford was. She had slept with him once or twice, not bad, but not enough to quench her lusts. Once you have tasted Crawford, you would never look for any other man again - that was her personal opinion.

Crawford must be blind or he was just playing hard to get with her. What could the boy possibly have except a dangling penis and two small sacs attached together. He and Crawford had the same engine after all. He did not have busty breasts like she did or hard brown nipples that Crawford could suck and blow and nip at to his heart's content. He did not have this velvety soft feeling between his legs that Crawford could indulge his whole face in between. Her eyes blazed in anger and she swore that she would get rid of the boy sooner than she had planned.

She needed to know where Crawford had taken him as she puffed angrily. She heard a buzzing sound at her door and thought that it could be Schuldig that had changed his mind. She would close one eye and let Schuldig do her if it was required to get the information. Instead when she opened the door, it was a man in his late forties in a dark suit with graying hair and moustache that stood in front of her.

"You are Mr. Takatori aren't you?" She asked with a disinterested face. The man nodded and instructed his bodyguard to wait outside.

"Well, what do you want?" She asked and took out the vodka and drank it straight from the bottle. Her long eyelashes fluttered as the liquor coursed down from her mouth in to her throat and left a warm feeling in her belly.

"I believe you and I have common interests," he said plainly and saw the protruding knife at the door. "Nice deco." He added.

"Modern woman," she answered and watched the man's steps closely from the corner of her eyes. "Don't go beating around the bush with me, tell me what makes you think you and I have similar interests? As far as I am concerned, you and me, Mr. Takatori, I don't think we are on the same page." She narrowed her eyes and took another gulp from the bottle.

"I want Fujimiya and you want Crawford," he answered.

That caught the woman's attention, "Continue," she said.

The man presented his best laid plan towards the woman and she nodded like she was interested. "You are lucky that you get to me earlier, three days later and he would have been dead meat."

"Why?"

"Something that you don't need to know," she answered halfheartedly. "All I want is your promise to lock him away from my view for the rest of my life. If I even for a second ever find him without anyone around, rest assure that I will thrust this knife into his chest and rip it open, take out his heart and feed it to the dogs." She made a sound like she had personal vendetta with the boy.

"The fucking problem is that Crawford has taken the boy out, and I have no idea where they are," she told him straight to his face.

"They went to Kabuki-za to watch a play and Crawford is taking him to Kyoto for the autumn festival," he told her.

Sylvia's eyes lit up when she heard that and she strode towards the man in her best catwalk; she began to caress the man's tie up and down and fluttered her eyelashes at him. "How did you know that?" She decided that why not have a one time thing with one of the most powerful men in Japan? After all they could be cohorts. She didn't know that this man had fetish for young boys. One secret in the bag and she could always use it as leverage when or if she needed any.

"Connections, baby… connections." The man answered smugly.

"I might have had a wrong first impression about you Takatori-san." She drawled and pressed her bosom on the man's chest.

"And how did you judge me now?" The man asked as he grabs her butt and pulled her front towards him, rubbing against the silk negligee that she was currently wearing.

"You are wiser and clever than they propagate in the media."

Takatori Reiji raised his hand and stroked her beautiful back, circling it with his fingers. She began to purr slightly and licked the man's ear and quickly undid the tie. Takatori took off his suit and threw it somewhere on the sofa nearest to him.

The woman was licking lips in a seductive manner, "Tell me, why you want that Fujimiya boy that badly." She asked and snapped her hips towards him, lips parting lightly, their faces were separated by an inch and she was acting as if she was going to kiss him.

"Let just say, that I like to collect pretty things for my viewing pleasure," he answered and began to undo his shirt buttons. Sylvia played the man's chest with her fingers like a harp and pushed the man down on her sofa and jumped on top of him. "You are indeed a peculiar man."

"Scare him if that's what you want, but don't hurt him," he said. Sylvia gave him a crooked smile.

"That could be arranged; I am good at it, but right now just hush…"

An hour later, Takatori Reiji came out from Sylvia's apartment with the biggest satisfied smile planted on his face.


	32. Chapter 31

Aaah… sorry for the late update. I was sick for few days and office workload kills…

**Chapter 31**

The play was superb. Ran did not understand why his classmates had no interest in that kind of art but he enjoyed it very much and watched the play closely.

They were in a restaurant in the middle of Tokyo. Crawford had decided to have a nice dinner before they boarded a flight to Osaka and from the Kansai International Airport, and they would drive to Kyoto. Crawford had Schuldig to prearrange a rental car for their easy movement.

Ran looked at the menu and scrunched his face at the ridiculously overpriced food. "I can cook this with much lesser expenses and it will still taste nice," he told Crawford.

"I'm sure you can, well, you can start cooking for me when we get back from this short trip." He smiled at the young man and filled his glass with champagne. He had ordered a Coke for Ran since the boy was still underage and he couldn't allow him to drink. Ran had not protested or even said a word when the drinks arrived. Instead he sipped his drink happily.

Ran gave him a little smile. "But at your place it is so hard to find the ingredients. The grocery store is a mile away and the one they have at the lobby is too sophisticated."

"We can get Schuldig to play mom and go to the market and buy the things for us."

Ran laughed.

"Did you like the play?" He asked as they waited for their food to arrive. Crawford ordered a sautéed roasted chicken with mashed potatoes while Ran ordered whatever Japanese food he found in the offered range of the menu.

"It was beautiful; it was like watching one of William Shakespeare's."

"Have you watched any play of Shakespeare's before?"

Ran shook his head. "The closest thing I get to it is when the school stages the play." He answered. "The English Drama Club President offered me a character for the school play but..." He blushed slightly and turned his head away. "He offered me Cleopatra's character."

"You would have made a beautiful Cleopatra." Crawford smiled.

Ran wanted to protest but the waiter had arrived with the foods and he kept his mouth shut. He shifted a little from his seat every few minutes, trying to find the right angle to sit. He was still sore from making love twice that day and remembering it made him blush over how wanton he had acted during that time.

"Uncomfortable?" Crawford asked when he saw the redhead shift again.

Ran nodded slightly. He almost wanted to say 'Who's the reason I am sore all over?' but decided against it to just enjoy the evening.

Crawford enjoyed talking with Ran. The boy would be quite animated when they touched upon subjects that interested him, like kendo and how he loved the katana and wished that he could own one. They talked about everything and anything.

Ran respected his father and was happy when they chatted about financial accounting, for him those numbers were like stories of the Company. Crawford had a hunch that Ran would turn out to be a well respected financial advisor just like his father. The young man sure loved money.

They reach Narita Airport an hour later and Ran was sleeping all the way during the flight while Crawford carefully scanned the passengers. When he was sure that there were no weird characters together with them on the plane, he settled down with a book in his hands.

Crawford let the boy to continue to sleep in the car as he drove. He stopped for a few minutes to call the hotel to make sure that his reservation was secured and ordered the hotel to prepare something for them in the room for the evening and bought two cups of coffee.

The young man woke up ten minutes before they reached the hotel. "Are we there yet?" He asked tiredly and rubbed his eyes.

Crawford shook his head. "Ten minutes" he answered.

"I really need to wash my face, I'm sure I look very awful." Ran told him and closed his mouth as he yawned and looked out the window and it was still dark outside. He looked at the dashboard clock. It was 2.40 a.m. No wonder he was still sleepy.

"You can continue sleeping or you can have the coffee." Crawford pointed at the Styrofoam covered cup. "Careful, it's hot," He warned when he saw Ran reach his hand out. Ran was taking a deep breath enjoying the aroma of the coffee in his nostrils. "My father really did not like me drinking coffee." He said. "He thought that it would obstruct my growth. Like I could be any taller than this at my age," he told Crawford as he sipped his drink.

They reached the hotel a minute later than planned and once they had checked in, Ran took off his shoes and walked like drunken man looking for the bed and when he found out how big the king sized bed was, he grinned at the American in delight and dumped his body on it. He was sound asleep almost instantly. Crawford took off his glasses and placed them in the container, carefully hanging his sweater on the provided cupboard and joined the boy for slumber. There was a lot of time for another session of vigorous activities later tonight, was his thought before he willed himself to fall asleep.

They spent most of the morning watching TV, reading and having their breakfast in the room. Crawford decided not to touch the young man to let him recuperate from the soreness and they went for sightseeing at a few of the temples like the Tofuku-ji for the beautiful garden and the Ginkaku-ji for the classic tea ceremony in the Rosei-tei room and Ran seemed to enjoy every minute of it and finally they arrived at the Arashiyama park. It was a breathtaking view.

It was almost dark when Ran was standing near one of the vendors selling colorful sweet candies that were shaped like maple leaves and Crawford purchased one for him; he blushed slightly when the Vendor smiled at him as he accepted the candy. He did not even notice that Crawford caught something in his hand before it could reach his head.

Crawford carefully studied the small arrow in his hand. He knew that it was not an accident but was meant to hurt and his eyes narrowed dangerously as he looked around.He crunched the thing in his hand and threw it into the small bin at the side of the vendor's cart and steered the redhead gently but firmly away.

"I have this special place for us to have our dinner," Crawford told the young man as he parked his car near a building. Ran saw the word "Flamenco" written in katakana on the building and smiled to himself; he wished that this day would never end. Tomorrow they would be back in Tokyo and he would be back in the room.

"Flamenco?"

"It's a Spanish Restaurant. The food here is good."

"A Spanish Restaurant in Kyoto…." He repeated and the man nodded. "Lovely. I've never tried Spanish food before."

"Today they have a special flamenco dance show." He heard the man say as they seated themselves and Crawford ordered in Spanish.

"Where did you learn how to speak that language?" Ran asked him in awe.

"I stayed in Spain for half a year on a job for a tycoon." He answered.

"You were his bodyguard?"

"No. His daughter's." Ran felt a twang of jealousy of the woman he had never met but he was sure that she must have been gorgeous as hell. Just look at that Chinese woman that came to Crawford's apartment the other day and of course being a man, Crawford would have done more than just protecting her. He was sure to take his 'body'- guarding job seriously. Thinking about that woman made him angry all over again.

"Who is Sylvia?" He finally asked, trying hard not to sound like a pissed off wife as they ate their dinner.

"We worked together for half a year in Switzerland for an assignment." Crawford ended the conversation when the lights in the Club were dimmed and a first female dancer came out on an elevated platform and performed a solo flamenco on the stage and then there were other dancers joining her. Ran watched them intently as the male and female dancers' bodies moved apart and came together in the difficult but graceful rhythm and it was the most sensual movements he had ever seen. As the music grew stronger the dancers began to move faster in a growing frenzy of desire, like they were making wild, mad, passionate love on the stage without their clothes being taken off. Ran almost screamed together with the rest of the patrons and he was too embarrassed to admit that he was sexually aroused just by watching the dance. He was shifting uncomfortably in his seat trying to hide the fact that his pants were feeling too tight.

Crawford sipped his drink slowly and let Ran enjoy himself, watching for the first time the art of the Spanish dance. He knew that the young man was aroused and he would take care of that in their hotel room later. He gently held the young man's hand and when Ran almost jumped at the touch, Crawford pulled him closer and his lips were on the boy's.

They were still at the door and Ran almost stumbled as Crawford tried to unbutton his shirt, but when his hands began to fumble, the American merely tore the annoying piece of clothing off and began to kiss him passionately. He remembered Schuldig's words that Sylvia was back to claim Crawford, and no wonder that she wanted him back, Ran knew why just from the kiss alone. They broke apart and Crawford quickly undressed and led the boy towards the bathroom. Ran saw that the bathtub was filled with various colors of jellies. He looked at the older man in confusion.

"Trust me. You will enjoy it," the older man said as he lifted him and put him in the bathtub and joined the boy in. Crawford began to work on the redhead as he licked all the parts, each crevice of the young man's body that was filled with the jelly and grinned when he heard Ran begin to moan uncontrollably.

"Nice dessert." Crawford licked his lips and watched the young man as he took a deep breath in ecstasy. "I want you to do exactly the same to me as I did to you, make me feel like you feel," Crawford whispered softly and Ran opened his eyes and started at the back of Crawford's ear and went down slowly until he reached the man's center of being. "I loved the passion fruit flavored."

Ran was staring at the man penis like he worshipped it and he could feel it growing hard in his hand. He took the now hard member in his mouth and moistened it with his tongue lovingly over the head and closed his lips behind the corona and began to suck it in. One of his hands encased the shaft of the penis and he began to slide his mouth up and down, swallowing the sweet taste of the jelly.

Crawford had felt enough and pulled himself and Ran up from the tub, sprayed both of their bodies with the shower nozzle to remove the access of the jelly hastily and carried the boy to the sofa. Ran continued his previous activities and began to twist his head from side to side, making sure that his moist lips stayed with the coronal ridge while his hand gently moved up and down. His other hand was holding the sacs, cupping and uncapping it and rolling it with his fingers. Crawford grunted and pulled the young man up roughly and he could hear Ran squeak in surprise and turned the boy around and entered him from behind in one urgent but swift move and began to pound in and out in an erratic rhythm. He just lost his control.

They spent the rest of the night exploring each others bodies until both of them were too exhausted to move.

Ran's final thought of that night was that he was going to be so sore again tomorrow, but that it was really worth it.


	33. Chapter 32

PrincessSin: My answer - Crawford just love to play

and thank you all for the review. appreciate them very much.

**Chapter 32**

The plan was to distract Crawford to take his eyes off the boy for a little while. Part them for a few minutes or so, that was all she needed. She had followed them all the way from one of the temples that they were visiting and trailed them into the club and gritted her teeth when she saw Crawford kissing the boy, to which she now referred as the male bimbo. When now she saw how clingy the redhead was with the man as they went up to the hotel room where they were staying, she was positively sure that Reiji Takatori would have to bite the dust.

They were back in Tokyo and it was time to make a move, time to move the pieces. She switched on her cell phone and flipped it to dial a number. A few rings went by, rings which she knew were deliberately slow to be answered and then she heard a male voice saying hello.

"Where have you been, darling? I am waiting for you…" She paused. "Wearing nothing."

Ran was back in the room and he was absolutely bored. The two days had been heaven to him, being near Crawford and he had enjoyed every seconds of it. Ran smiled at the box that was neatly wrapped on the table. It was long and slim, Crawford had left it on the table this morning. It was like a bribe for him to keep on staying in this apartment. He did not need to be showered with presents; he was not that kind of person that needed gifts to stay. He loved the man with every fiber of his being, and that was a strong enough reason.

But still, it was a nice gesture, so he unwrapped the gift and began to smile from ear to ear. It was a katana. He unsheathed it from its _saya _and noticed that it was a _moroha-zukuri_, a double edged blade. He began to swing it from left to right in his graceful kendo moves and marveled at how light it was. This was the best gift he ever had received.

"Like it?" He turned and rewarded the man who was leaning against the door with a most beautiful smile.

"Love it." He answered. "Thank you. You remembered."

"I have an appointment later and I want you to stay in the room," Crawford said. "Remember the house rules." Crawford stared at him and was satisfied when the young man nodded. He turned to exit the apartment and swayed slightly as a vision hit him.

_A house that he recognized and then an explosion. _

That was all he got. He turned to look at Ran who was still fascinated with the katana. He came to the decision that if the boy would have to be served as the bait… So be it. He knew where to find him if he was in trouble. If this was the way that would get rid of the problem and solve the job he was hired and paid handsomely to do, then so be it too.

He would not dirty his hands to kill that senile perverted old man, the redhead would do the job for him nicely and the consequences would be dealt later when the time came. The young man would be emotionally scarred, that was for sure, but right now he had other things to attend to, like meeting with Sylvia in her apartment.

Ran sat in the room, listening to 'Longing' by Gackt from the Redemption CD album that he had brought along when he heard a buzz at the intercom by the door. He switched the player off and walked toward the door to and hit the intercom button. "Yes?"

"Mr. Crawford?" The woman's voice that boomed from the intercom was one that he recognized as the lobby receptionist's.

"Mr. Crawford is not in…. I.."

"Fujimiya-san?" Ran was surprised that the girl knew his name and answered. "Yes?"

"I have a message from your parents; they are already in Tokyo and waiting for you at home."

"Ah…" He was stunned and finally answered 'okay and thank you' through the intercom when the lady's voice kept buzzing through it. He felt a little guilty because he had not called his parents for a few days. He was sure that Yohji had called his parents telling them about his stubbornness to stay with the gaijin and his parents had cancelled their prolonged stay. Ran sighed inwardly, he did not know how to explain to his parents, especially to his father, but he would do it somehow and if worse came to worst, he would suggest to Crawford to just elope.

Ran wrote a message to Crawford on a paper and stuck it on the refrigerator, apologizing to the older man that he had to go and meet his parents. He was sure Crawford would understand, then he thought about the stalker but dismissed the threat. He had had enough of being afraid and hiding.

A taxi stopped near his house and he saw that Aya was at the door, waving at him. He returned the wave and paid the taxi. He walked the few meters toward his house when he saw Aya getting out of the gate and run towards him. He blinked and suddenly his house exploded and caught on fire. The blast effect was strong enough to throw him a few feet away, Ran groaned in pain as he hit the pavement and looked up in disbelief when he saw a car speeding towards Aya, who was also just getting up from the ground. He tried to get up as fast as he could and tried to scream at his sister to warn her but it was too late. The car kept speeding and knocked his sister down. The impact was so hard that he could hear a loud thud from where he was standing and he watched helplessly as his sister rolled down from the car's windshield and fell on the ground. He tried to walk but all he could do was to crawl towards her. He didn't know it when he began to cry but he knew he couldn't stop as he straddled his sister trying to get her to wake up. He heard the car's brakes screech and he saw that a man came out. He knew that man. It was Takatori and he snarled and struggled to get up only to fall again like a rag doll as the old man walked calmly towards him.

Takatori was holding something round and shiny in his hand and when he reached the snarling boy, which he found very cute, he pointed the small canister right at boy's face and before Ran could say anything, Takatori blasted him with the chloroform spray. The man held the tip of the canister nozzle over the boy's face for few seconds longer and when the mist covering the boy subsided, he watched with an obvious glee as the boy collapsed on the cement pavement. His parents were dead, too bad. His sister was stupid enough to be hit by his car. She was supposed to be dead together with their parents in the house and when he had seen her running towards the redhead, he had had no other choice but to just run her down. He presumed that she was dead too when the girl did not move even an inch when the boy straddled her.

He pulled the girl's lifeless body away from the boy's clutches and carried the unconscious redhead back to his car and sped away from the scene. He could hear the sound of sirens from the fire brigade's trucks and the police patrol cars as he drove through the main road.

He knew Sylvia had done a good job with distracting Crawford with the way she had tried to pump more information from him. What a promiscuous lady she was and Takatori wondered if she wanted to work for him. She could be his bodyguard and he could get his benefits with that luscious body. It was a win-win deal. And the lady at the apartment lobby was easy too. He would take care of her later.

Maybe they would find her floating in one of the rivers the next day and nobody would care or miss her. They could always hire a new and pretty face to be stationed at the front desk.


	34. Chapter 33

**warning : A not too descriptive NCS. It's just there and needed.**

**Chapter 33**

Fujimiya Ran woke in complete darkness. He couldn't really tell the difference if he had opened his eyes or if they were still closed because the darkness was too heavy and everything was the same… Dark, black and gloomy. He felt very weak, and not to mention the constant pounding in his head.

He did not know where he was but he was sure that he was lying in a bed and it felt as if he had been sleeping for a very long time. Maybe he was having a dream, a very nasty one? Then his eyes were blinded by a sudden brightness, like spotlights on a soccer field and he hissed in pain, struggling to shield his eyes with his hands from those blinding lights. He removed his hands slowly and yet he still could not see anything. Everything was blurry under the bright lights.

_I'm dreaming,_ he thought loudly.

"You're not dreaming," he heard a man's voice and almost flinched because he still couldn't see anything clearly, except the fuzzy outline of a man's silhouette blocking the light. His drugged brain could not grasp what was happening, everything was clogged and he could not shake the spinning and swirling jumbles of frames playing in his head away.

"Crawford?" He moaned weakly and almost choked on his tongue when he was slapped hard right across his face. He could feel a hand roaming over his body like he was being inspected for injuries. He was too weak to even raise his hand to slap it away.

"You let him touch you, didn't you?" The eerie voice was getting clearer and he could feel someone's breath on his skin. He whimpered slightly and tried to turn his face away. "Look at all these marks on your body." And he was slapped again. "You let that bastard bite and bruise your body?" Another slap. "Slut!" Slap again. Was he being punished severely just because he had slept with Crawford? But why? He loved the man. And who? Was his father very angry with him? But the voice was different; it wasn't his father's voice. He did not recognize it.

Ran coiled his body in a fetal position and this time he could not hold it in and he began to cry when he remembered what had happened. His parents, his sister and his house, they were all gone and they had left him alone. And this man who was singing a lullaby to him was responsible for everything.

Baby mine, don't you cry  
Baby mine, dry your eyes  
Rest your head close to my heart  
Never to part, baby of mine.

Little one when you play  
Don't you mind what you say  
Let those eyes sparkle and shine  
Never a tear, baby of mine.

He swore he would kill that man. He sounded so awful that Ran begin to twitch when the man wiped his eyes with his fingers gently and twisted as he was slapped again. He could hear a _'kathunk'_ as things were slammed over something that shattered and he finally blacked out. At least he was not conscious, to feel what the man was about to do with him next.

Takatori had never felt this angry in his whole life. Crawford had ruined his property; in fact he had soiled this beautiful and innocent thing. He thought that he was a little bit late because all the marks still looked fresh but quickly realized that there were also faded bite marks on the boy's thighs and he began to fume. He took the chair that he was sitting on and threw it against the unbreakable glass wall. The chair shattered into pieces.

He turned the boy's body from the side to rest on his front and pulled his briefs off in one sharp movement, the body jerked but the boy did not wake from his state of unconsciousness. Maybe he had sprayed a little bit too much chloroform and he had pumped drugs into the boy's veins to maintain his fragility. He stared at the naked body hungrily; despite all the bruises the boy looked stunningly beautiful. Until all the bruises were gone and when they were, his pale and creamy skin would be flawless, just like before, just like he had never been touched. The thought itself was enough to arouse him.

Aah, very well then since it isthe boy was already spoiled… It would indeed be a waste if he did not taste him there and then. He reached down and rubbed the boy's body. It felt a little cold and he began to pinch the boy's nipple hard until it turned reddish in color. He had really wanted to do that from the day he had first met him and he had kept tons of the boy's pictures from he was seven up to now, ten years of long wait and just then to find out that that other man had touched him first... That made him want to hurt the boy a little or maybe a lot for letting himself be seduced by another man.

He inserted his one of his fingers into the boy's opening, it was soft and warm and he could imagine what Crawford had been experiencing when he was inside the boy and Takatori began his one-sided conversation. "How did you feel… Ran when he inserted his thing inside you? I'm sure you screamed in pain, didn't you?" What made you so stupid to allow him to do that to you? You know I will never hurt you, you know I will just want to look at you, marvel at you. You make me very, very upset, Ran. Look what I have done just to make you be here with me? I had to blow up your house with your parents in it. I am the one who called them, to make sure that they would be in the house. And your poor sister… poor, poor pretty Aya-chan, I'm sure she is not pretty and bubbly anymore wherever she is now. It's your entire fault… Angel face… All yours. You know the reason why a son is born. It's to trouble his father. And you are one classic example." He caressed to boy's cheek and thrust himself inside the unresponsive body pinned underneath him until he reached his orgasm.

Crawford was lying in the bed, his glorious body naked in Sylvia's apartment and it was rather funny that he found out he couldn't get turned on a second time no matter what Sylvia did to him; the dirty talk and the sweet whispers, nothing. Unlike before he'd had Ran, he could do it until the women were panting in exhaustion. He was just not in the mood. He knew something was happening and he had let it happen, some futures should not be altered if it was to his advantage. He ignored Sylvia, who was fuming while she was still on top of him, and refused to give up; she kept fondling his genitals in hope to get him up.

"Don't tell me you're getting old," Sylvia taunted from above him, before she bent down trying to kiss the American.

Crawford snorted. "Hardly. I find it rather boring," he answered and that angered the Chinese woman even more.

"Why? Because you fucked a bimbo boy and suddenly women tend to bore you? I don't think he has this…" he grabbed the man's hand and put it on her breast. "And this." And rested the other hand at her vagina. "I swear that today, even a five inches cock can satisfy me."

'Then go and find that cock to satisfy you." Crawford got up rather abruptly when he heard his cell phone ringing and Sylvia almost fell over the edge of the bed.

"Bastard!" He could hear Sylvia curse from her room as he answered the call.

"When?" He asked, his face remained calm as Sylvia trotted towards him and spread her arms and snuggled around his waist from behind. Sylvia understood the conversation well enough even though it was only Crawford's voice she could hear doing the talking. It must be Schuldig telling him what had happened to his bimbo. She was flushed with satisfaction that Crawford would now be hers; let that creepy old man have all his fun with that boy.

"One hour." Crawford told Schuldig and pulled Sylvia away from his waist and threw her towards the sofa, "Thank you for your service. Ma'am," he said as he dressed and walked out of the door, leaving the woman agape behind him.


	35. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

He got up again and this time when he opened his eyes he could see everything. He was confused when he saw that everything that had been in his room, in his house was there. The Gundam figurines, his novels, his Slam Dunk and Bleach mangas, almost everything. Even his kendo stick was there.

But what he felt most at the moment was sore… And almost battered. He looked down at his body and he wanted to vomit when he felt something sticky still trickling between his thighs from his anus. It was the man's semen. He had been violated by the very same man that had ruined his life and his family and he vomited right there on the bed.

There was a bathroom in his room and he went inside to clean himself as much as possible and as fast as he could to cleanse away the disgusting feeling. He hissed at the sudden sharp pain as the water hit his opening. He couldn't help but vomit again and again into the sink until there was nothing that could come out from his throat except watery mucus.

He came out of the room and took out one of his shirts and khaki pants that were hanging in the cupboard and quickly put them on. The door to the glass room was left open and Ran took the wooden sword and tiptoed out from the room. He was angry and no amount of pain could stop him now. He didn't even care if he died today; maybe today was a good day to die. After all he had lost everything and that included Crawford. He knew that the man wouldn't want him anymore now that he was what you could call damaged goods.

He walked towards the sounds he heard coming from another room and stumbled few steps when the sharp pain returned and his head was again swimming with dizziness. He stopped right at the door, blinking few times to clear his vision.

"So you are up…"

"Why?" Ran asked, not sure whether he was asking why he was here or why this man whom his father had been working with loyally and making him financially envied by everyone, would do such a thing and he guessed that he didn't really care much for an answer. Everything was gone, right?

"Your body tastes real go—o-o-o-od." The man told him as he got up from the lazy chair he was sitting on.

Ran suddenly lost all his thoughts; images and more images, like movies, descended over his eyes. Without hesitating, Ran with his bamboo sword gripped tightly between his hands, barreled towards the older man who had killed his family and violated him. His heart was on fire, it was burning with rage and violence… With hate and also with pain. The man obviously knew what was coming and evaded the attack, caught his hand and knocked the wooden sword down and it went flying from his hands and fell with a clutter on the floor.

The man obviously was stronger than him, he sounded so cocky and arrogant when Ran's punch aimed at his bowels missed its target. Instead Ran, who was driven by anger, pushed the man hard into the wall behind him and threw several blind punches with both his fists. He could feel his fist become weaker and weaker with every punch. He aimed for the head and slammed viciously right into the man's temple. He could hear the man groan before he was shoved brutally away and he hit the floor with a thud.

The man was holding a knife and marched right up to him and his eyes were blazing with such an intense fury, Ran knew he was about to be killed. "I should have just killed you when you were out cold. Or maybe I should kill you now and fuck your lifeless body and throw it into the sea and let that pretty body of yours be a feast for the fishes," he said before he swiped at Ran with his knife. The blade sliced his ankle when he tried to dodge the strike that left him lying with his face down. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw his bamboo sword lying few meters away and tried to crawl towards it.

Reiji Takatori was gaining on him and was gripping his neck. Ran coughed violently as he felt himself choking on his own blood in his mouth. His hands were fumbling over the floor, searching for the wooden sword and when he managed to get a grip on it, he closed his eyes and used of his last strength and screamed, "Takatori! Shi-ne-e-e-e-e-e-e!" and thrust the bamboo sword into the man's stomach. He could see the man's face; there was nothing but shock. The grip on his neck became weaker.

"Bitch!" Was the last word that the man said before his body slumped down on top of him; the white shirt he was wearing turned to red, soaked with the man's blood.

Ran finally realized that he had killed a man; one of the most prominent politicians in Tokyo and that could mean death for him too. But what made him break down and cry was that he had gone against his principles. He had killed a man using his kendo skills and the wooden sword.

He was covering his face with his bloody hands and heard a 'click'. Between the blood and the tears streaming down his face, he saw Crawford, Schuldig and another person wearing an eye patch that he did not recognize He merely sat beside the dead body and hugged his knees.

Schuldig stared at the redhead and felt how chaotic the young man was feeling right at the moment. He stared at the back of his so called leader as he strode towards the boy. Crawford had let all this happen. When Schuldig couldn't find Ran's thoughts in the apartment, he had gone and checked in the older man's room only to find the post-it notes on the fridge. He and Farfarello had gone to the young man's house and he could see smoke a mile away and his car had not been allowed to drive down the road leading towards the house.

He had parked the car to check what had happened, only to find that people from the neighborhood were gathering and chatting among themselves. It seemed that the story that went around was that the mother had left the cooking gas on and it had exploded when she ignited it again and the sister was hit by the car during all the madness while trying to save herself. He also thought about how simple-minded they were in drawing their conclusions.

He had called Crawford to inform him and the man hadn't even sounded surprised, which meant only one thing. He had seen it. When Schuldig had suggested that they go and just get Ran from Takatori's house, Crawford had told him to shut up and wait for his orders. He had been a little surprised, and then he had realized that he had known this scheming man for years and that Crawford must have something up his sleeve, so he had remained quiet… Waiting and watching.

True enough, he didn't need his telepathic powers to know that the redhead had been violated. Looking at the crouching body and how battered his face was, he knew. Crawford must have foreseen that too and had purposely let the now dead man have his way with the redhead. Why? To make sure that Ran was angry enough to kill the man and he wouldn't have to do it with his own hands.

Another small secret that he had kept; Ran's father was the one that had hired them to watch his son. The late Fujimiya had known that his employer had his eyes on his son all along and had tried to take his son away for a couple of weeks to Osaka. He had even secretly tried to transfer his son to be schooled in Osaka but somehow the forest incident had made the son rush back to Tokyo and called Crawford. The truth was that Fujimiya didn't even know what Crawford looked like, or what any of them looked like, for that matter and so they pretended to be from Interpol because Crawford wanted to see who the man was without him knowing who they actually were…

Now the man that had hired them had been murdered by his own employer, Crawford might have known that much earlier too. The reason why he let the whole family perishat the hands of this old bastard was so that Ran would only rely on him and him alone. Crawford could even get rid of his friends if he wanted to. Crawford, as he knew, was one possessive freak and the future of the young man had been engineered all by this man alone. Crawford had once said to Schuldig that he would not be content until he had made sure that Ran would be his and it seemed like he had succeeded.

Crawford was indeed a dangerous man…

"Torch the house," he heard the American say as he carried Ran out of the room.

"Aye.. Aye… Captain!" He answered. He stood near Takatori's body and when Crawford was out of sight, he kicked the body as hard as he could. Yes, Schuldig still remembered the beating with the golf club. "Not very tough now, when you are dead, are you Scheißer?" He grinned as he poured the gasoline on top of the body while Farfarello was gleefully doing the same on the floor. He flicked a match and lit his cigarette before throwing the match on the body and watched with a satisfied smile as the fire fell on its prey hungrily.

Good riddance! It was finally over.


	36. Chapter 35

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

It felt like déjà vu when Crawford laid the boy down on the bed back in his apartment. Ran was conscious but his eyes were glazed, staring at nothing. It would take time for the young man to recover. Crawford called for his personal Doctor to come and have a look at the young man.

"So… He is the reason why you just left without saying anything?" He turned to see Sylvia trot in front of Schuldig and Farfarello.

"Hey! Don't look at me… She just barged in." Schuldig looked at him defensively. He knew that Schuldig had a hard time reading Sylvia's mind.

Crawford did not bother to say anything to the woman; instead he dragged her out of the room and locked the door. "What. Are. You. Doing. Here?" He asked as he gritted his teeth.

"Well, I wanted to know what kept you away from me," she answered, ignoring the obvious sound of irritation in Crawford's voice and hiding the fact that she was storming inside.

It seemed like that useless old man had failed to keep his end of the bargain since the boy was back here with her Crawford. Never let a man do a woman's job, she thought scornfully. She would finish the boy off herself. Back to plan A… Kill the boy before he remembered or noticed who she really was… And she had a vivid imagination regarding how she was going to do it. The last time when she had hired the man to do a hit and run on the boy was a letdown and that man had paid the full price for his failure with his life for that simple job, even though she knew it was not entirely that man's fault. She had not known that Crawford would be there.

"Now that you know, get out." Crawford pointed at the door with his finger.

"Crawford, the Doc is here." Both heads turned when they heard Schuldig yell and saw someone at the door. Sylvia's sullen face became clear.

"I won't forget this," she told Crawford. "And you know what? I hope that the boy dies painfully." She stomped out the door, and Crawford dismissed it as an empty threat of a woman in her seething jealousy and watched her go. His glasses glinted as he turned to show the Doctor to his room and closed the door behind him.

"You should take her threat seriously."

Schuldig leaned against the wall and Farfarello was rummaging through the fridge trying to find something to eat. "Knowing her, she would do anything to get rid of her rivals and she does look at Ran as one. By the way, his friends were frantically searching for him when they heard about the blast. I told that pretty blonde that he had gone home. He didn't believe me, and you know what he did? He tried to strangle my hand with a wire… He sure has a talent with wires." He showed Crawford his wrist with the marks on it. "Takatori's 'home' is burned to the ground as we speak and the authorities will think that it was an accident because I made it look like one." He smirked. "We shall see the big news about it later."

Crawford digested the information; he wanted to say something, something about telling Schuldig to distract the blond when he heard a soft click from his bedroom door and turned to see that the doctor had come out.

"I've examined the boy. He will be all right. I had to inject him with valium to calm him down. He was struggling when I tried to put antiseptics on all his wounds. Was the boy raped?" He asked with his straight face, nothing was strange when it came to Crawford. He had been the American's private physician for a few years.

"Yes." Crawford answered with his expressionless face.

"That explains all the bruises and wounds around his private parts. Just make sure it is kept clean and disinfected or he will suffer serious infections," he said as he took off his gloves and handed Crawford the prescriptions. There were no other unnecessary questions from the doctor and that was why Crawford took him as his personal surgeon. He didn't like it if there were too many questions.

"You're taking it lightly about him being raped, aren't you?" Schuldig said as the doctor exited the apartment.

"It was necessary."

"Part of your mighty plan. Right. And you don't care if he is hurt in the process."

"As I said, it was necessary and I am not repeating it."

Schuldig snorted at the answer. He understood enough to know that Crawford would be angry if he kept pushing it. "Yeah… whatever… He is yours to deal with however you want to. I am going back." He got up and looked for his Irish friend. "Hey Farf! Stop emptying Crawford's fridge! Let's go!"

Crawford pinched the bridge of his nose and entered his room. Ran was covered with a blanket but he could see the troubled face the boy made in his sleep, his features contorting like he was caught in a bad dream and could not escape from it. The boy calmed down as Crawford placed his hand on his temple. Even in his sleep Ran could recognize the touch but his breathing was still heavy.

He thought about what Schuldig had said before, about him letting the boy be raped by the other man. He had foreseen it and he did not mind it even in the slightest. He knew how the things with Takatori would end and it had been his best solution. Certain decisions of his needed not to be explained. As a matter of fact, he was not obliged to explain anything, particularly not to his teammates. It would break the boy but not enough to destroy him and Crawford would not allow that to happen.

He had fallen in love with the redhead, something that he had been fearing, but he could finally admit it to himself when he had seen how battered Ran had been on the floor in Takatori's private house. It was not something that he had expected or foreseen, all he saw was that the young man would kill that old bastard. That was why he had told Schuldig to burn the house down and make sure there were no evidence of Ran being there left. He was in a wrath but he was not the type of man who would show his emotions; his pride would not allow it and there was no way in hell he would show it to Schuldig out of all people and so he had maintained his stone face.

Ran was a strong young man and he had a strong will. He knew that and he had known that all along. He may look fragile now, but he would get over it. Crawford watched as Ran's breathing finally was at ease, and he stooped down and kissed the wounded lips lightly. One man was down and that was easy but there was still another one and the other one was hungry for the redhead's blood. He hated the thought that Ran could not remember the face and he did not know who it was but he knew that his precognitive power would not fail him. When the time came he would deal with it.

He carefully hoisted the blanket down and examined the redhead's injuries and when he was satisfied, he laid down beside the sleeping young man and finally fell asleep.

He dreamt of Ran being stabbed with a knife; Sylvia was laughing crazily at the sight and he shot the woman point blank in her head.


	37. Chapter 36

Chapter 34

**Chapter 36**

It was five minutes after five and she was strolling near the JR Chou Line at Shinjuku Station. That time also marked that it had been a week and still there was no sign of Crawford calling. That man was busy babysitting the damn bimbo again and it hurt her pride, not a little but so much that she thought about taking out her knife and stab every man that he saw in a suit during the rush hour.

The time had come. Fujimiya Ran would die. Her skin prickled at the thought; soon the boy's purposeless life would come to an end and it made her heart leap with joy. It had nothing to do with him being the witness to one of her assignments. It's all about who had the right to get the man. The redheaded bimbo did not even recognize her and the last thing that happened to him must have further clouded his mind too. He must be so sure that no one would be after him now. How wrong he could be. Maybe if she showed him the knife that she had used when she had skinned her prey in the woods, it would refresh his memory. What a wonderful sight it would be to see his pretty violet eyes widen in fear. She loved the smell of fear from her prey. Knowing that it would be the last thing they ever saw at that precise moment and that they would inhale their last breaths. She was like their angel of death... One hell of a drop dead beautiful angel of death. They should be honored, dying at her hands.

As she walked, a woman with a briefcase in her rush knocked her and she staggered a little. "Watch where you're going," she hissed and the woman ignored her and walked faster towards the train platform. Sylvia stared at the woman's back with her eyes fill of hatred; she had the same color as that boy's hair. She felt her blood surging and broiling in her veins, and she walked as fast as she could to match the woman's pace. She wanted to teach that redheaded bitch a lesson. Do not ignore and mess with her…

The ride in the train was suffocating and peoples kept pushing her, now and then she could feel someone groping but she d could not care less, let them grope… But if she found out who it was, don't blame her if their hands went missing. Her eyes were focused on the redhead on the phone, giggling at something that the other person on the other side of the line was telling her that must have been funny. _Yes, giggle__s__ now bitch! Giggle as much as you want. It will be the last day you do it anyway._

She followed the woman closely, but not close enough for her to sense that she was being hunted. It's an impromptu hunt, something that she had not planned, but she relished it. It could hone her skills. She waited between the thick bushes and the trees, not minding the cold wind and watched with her vigilant eyes in which house the woman was staying. Nobody opened the door for her, meaning that she lived alone. _Perfect. _There's a coffee shop near where the woman was staying, she could spend her time there while waiting for it to be dark.

_The redhead's gonna die-e… the redhead's gonna die-e_, she hummed in her head happily.

Breaking and entering was her forte and she was good with it. The house was simple, almost bare, with only a set of sofas and a TV in the hall, a small kitchen and a bedroom with a bathroom attached to it. She studied the house with a lack of interest. She preferred to stay in a big house where children could run along the hallway. _My children… with Crawford_, she grinned at the thought. They would be as handsome as their father or as beautiful as her.

This house was small and it was suffocating. It reminded her of her old house, the one where she had grown up. She could hear a shower running; it would be fun to kill the woman while she was taking her shower, just like Norman Bates when he killed Marion Crane in that Psycho movie. Well, why not. Life was like a movie itself.

She waited for a few minutes with a knife clutched in her hands and took up a stab posture and entered the bathroom. All she heard after that was a gasp followed by screams of fear and then pain and she screamed along with the woman, mimicking them until she could hear nothing but her own voice. She looked at the slumped body sprawled near the bath tub disinterestedly, but when she saw the wet red hair that was now mixed with the woman's blood; she began to cut it off with the knife.

How she hated redheads!

Ran was seated near the window. It had been a week and he felt stronger. He had learned that Crawford had arranged his family's funeral services while he was still bedridden. There were no tears to cry now, even if he wanted to. His mind was numb and he still thought that he was dreaming. What made him know that it was all reality were his black and blue bruises on the face and his body and the antiseptics that Crawford applied to him every four hours in his nether regions. Crawford must have been disgusted with him; he didn't even want to touch him other than to make sure that he was properly taken care of. But then, every morning since he had woken up from the day when the older man had brought him back to this apartment from that dreadful house, he would find Crawford still sleeping beside him, spooning him.

Ran got up to fetch his wallet in Crawford's drawer and took out the picture of his family. He and his father were wearing matching Yukatas and Aya and his mother were looking very pretty in their kimonos. It was taken as a family picture during their last spring and he cried, remembering those fond memories. After a few minutes of crying, he kissed the last picture that he had of his family and carefully placed it back in his wallet. He looked around and saw the katana that Crawford had bought for him. Carefully he unsheathed it; there would no longer be a kendo lesson for him, or a tournament. He would have to kiss them goodbye. He was certain that he would have to drop out from his school and start a new life.

Things had changed; everything had changed, and there would be no one to support his schooling anyway. Crawford did tell him that he had inherited his father's insurance but it was untouchable until he reached twenty-one; meaning that at this moment he had no money. He almost felt lost at the thought. What should he do till then? He knew that he had to stand on his own now, his life was no longer in danger but he had to stomach the fact that he had killed a man. Ran stared at both of his hands. He couldn't make the image of his hands stained in blood disappear.

Crawford was not in at the moment. He was out with Schuldig and Ran had overheard something. They had talked about leaving Japan. Crawford was going to leave him. Ran chuckled to himself. He knew that it was too good to be true, having a relationship with that man. He was right, the older man was certainly appalled with him, he was weak, couldn't defend himself and he had let his body be touched by another man. It would be better if he left the house rather than waiting around for the man to dump him. That would be more painful on his part and he didn't think that he could face it.

Ran began to pack his belongings and when he saw the katana, he was not sure if he was allowed to take it with him. He decided that he shouldn't; Crawford would give it to a person that he would love and someone who was not as damaged as him and the thought made him envy that unknown person.

He took a last glance around the house and remembered all the happy moments. He sighed and closed the door for good.


	38. Chapter 37

Chapter 37 Chapter 37

"Ran?" Yohji's eyes widened and he rubbed them again to make sure that he was not seeing things "It is you!" He exclaimed and hugged his friend tightly before he realized that his redheaded friend was flinching and he let go of Ran fast, like he had been electrocuted. Instead he reached for the redhead bags and carried them for him.

"Where's everyone?" Ran asked suddenly and glanced around the house.

"My parents have gone out. They say that it's for their second honeymoon and no children, big or small, are allowed to tag along." He answered and smiled. Ran looked forlornly back at him. He was sure that his parents would have done the same if they had still been alive…

"What happened to you?" He heard Yohji ask him; his voice sound concerned. "I couldn't even find you when I heard about your family. We were frantically searching for you and that Crawford refused to tell us anything." He sighed.

"Even that obnoxious German raised my temper. I almost lost my it trying to strangle him with a wire."

Ran looked at him, speechless, but also looking rather vexed with the news. Yohji looked at him and laugh, "Don't worry, I only managed to strangle his wrist." He smiled when he saw his friend's face relax. "Now, tell me what happened to you?" He took Ran's hand and saw some of the angry bruises on it. His jade eyes began to glow in anger, "What are all these injuries? Did that bastard gaijin hurt you? I swear…" Yohji began to grab Ran's hand and lifted his shirt to see all the blue and black marks that were still visible on his friend's body.

Ran held his friend's arm to calm him. "It's not Crawford…"

"Then tell me, why do you have all these bruises and marks all over your body, where did you disappear to?" He asked. Yohji did not realize that he had raised his voice. "Do you know what I heard about the rumors that people are spreading around? They said your father had embezzled lots of money from his employer and that he killed himself with his family."

Ran looked at him in surprise and opened his mouth to say something but Yohji stopped him. "I know it's not true… you know I searched for you when I heard the news, I ran to Crawford's house and that what's-his-name told me that you had gone home. I didn't believe him." He stopped and continued when he saw no reaction from his friend. "About Crawford… Ran, I am not against you and him but I just don't trust him." He looked at his friend's face and quickly said, "I know you love the man…but…"

Ran shook his head, "It doesn't matter anymore." He said sadly.

"What? Why? Did he dump you?" Yohji jumped from his seat, obviously angry.

Ran shook his head again. "No… it's not like that… I…" He told him everything and in between telling Yohji his story he had to stop a few times to control his emotions and to make sure that he was not crying like a child in front of his friend. Yohji listened to him silently and when Ran had finally finished, he pulled his friend in for a hug, lending him the support that he needed very much.

"You are welcome to stay here as long as you want," he whispered to his friend. "Good news is that I am getting my own place to stay tomorrow. My parents told me that I am old enough not to stay with them anymore." He smirked. "Want to come and do the search with me? I want you to stay with me until you can get back to your own feet." He said and stroked the cowering head and he could feel his friend nod slowly. "You will stay here tonight in the guest room." Ran straightened his head, wanting to say something.

"No argument." Yohji told him. "Not today."

Ran heard a sound coming from the kitchen. He rubbed his eyes and rose from the bed. Yohji must be in the kitchen and he found himself suddenly feeling thirsty. He did not realize anything when the shadowy figure suddenly appeared from the dark doorway.

"Yohji?' He called out, but the silhouette did neither answer nor acknowledge his appearance.

"Yoh…" Before Ran could finish calling, the figure leapt towards him with something glinting in its hand. He tried to dodge, but his sleepy mind refused to cooperate and his movements were sluggish, which gave the figure the opportunity to rush towards him and he fell down with a loud thud.

"Arrghghghghg!" the attacker shrieked in a high pitched sound. It was a woman's voice, he was sure of that, but he was too shocked to recognize whose. He wanted to scream for Yohji, but there was no sound coming out from him except his harsh and quickened breathing.

In his desperation, he began to scratch his attacker. The house was too dark for him and he could barely see anything to defend himself from the unseen assailant. Instead he received a powerful kick in his stomach. Ran doubled over and cried out in pain.

He wanted to get up. His mind was screaming to tell him to run, but his body could barely move. The injuries that he had received from his last encounter were not fully healed and before he could get up, the dark figure rose again and gave him a strong knock on his shoulder.

Ran tried to grab the figure's arm but his hand was slapped away and his assailant pinned him down. "Calling your friend? He is not helping you, in fact, he is not getting up anytime soon," she whispered. "When he wakes up, the only thing he will find are bits and pieces leftover of you." She said and stabbed the boy in his left leg to immobilize him.

Ran screamed.

"Yes, scream your heart out… Screaaaaaam, don't worry not even Crawford would come for you…." She chuckled, "Oh wait! He doesn't even know that you are here. Let me tell you a little secret about the so called man that you love. You see, Crawford knew about Takatori… He let Takatori rape you…"

"No, I don't believe…" Ran was trying to wiggle himself away from the woman sitting on top of him.

"Now, now… Ran… Don't make it even more difficult than it already is. You should just accept that you will die tonight. I don't care if you believe it or not but… "

"Why?" Ran gasped and hissed in pain, he could feel his own blood oozing out from the knife's wound on his leg. Ran knew he couldn't stop the attack.

"Nothing personal…. Well, actually it was becoming personal when you started sleeping with my man. Crawford is mine, not yours and I making sure that it stays that way and no one can stop me." Sylvia tugged Ran's hair roughly, and cut off his ear tails with the knife in her hand. "I shall keep this as souvenir, you as my last and the prettiest prey of all."

"Remember this knife?" She slithered the knife across the boy's face, "This was the knife that I used when you saw me in the woods." The curtain fluttered and in the dim moonlight Ran saw the knife glinting at him and everything came flashing back in his. Now he remembered, it had been a woman that he had seen holding the knife and butchering the body on the ground. Now she was on top of him.

Ran sensed that he was getting weaker; he was already bleeding profusely from the stabbing.

"Say your little prayer, little darling," He heard the woman say.

_This is it_. Ran thought_. It's better like this. _He closed his eyes and prepared for the inevitable to come.

"Put. Down. The. Knife. Sylvia." The room was suddenly flooded with lights and with his blurry bloodshot eyes, he saw Crawford pointing his gun towards the woman. He closed his eyes, not knowing if he should feel relief but Sylvia did not even move away from him even an inch.

"How did you know I was here?" The woman asked but her hands did not waver and she was ready for the killing stab if Crawford as much as moved even an inch. Her arrogance clearly showed that she had the upper hand. She could just stab the boy in his heart and he would go away.

Schuldig was bending over to check on Yohji who was slumped near the refrigerator. "He's still breathing." He informed Crawford and turned his glare on the woman.

"Don't try to play psycho with me in my head, Schuldig!" Sylvia spat. "You forget, I am crazy enough but not stupid."

Crawford's aim did not waver either. "Why are you doing this?" He asked, trying to attract the woman's attention. "He doesn't even recognize who you are."

"It was you! It was all about you!" She screamed. "I don't give a fuck even he did recognize me, but the hell I am going to let him have you."

"You hurt him, and I am not hesitating to kill you here and now, Sylvia. Move away from him." Crawford's commanding voice sounded eerie and so frightening that even Schuldig flinched at his side and stepped a little further away from the man.

"No, you're not… you won't kill me. You even fucked me when you were back from your so called honeymoon trip from Osaka with him. You love me!"

Crawford snorted. "If that what you call love... It's just a fuck, nothing more." He sneered.

Sylvia raised the knife, "Die!" she screamed and stabbed the body beneath her and then there was a shot. A bullet hit right her at in the temple; her body convulsed a little and she slumped.

Crawford rushed towards Ran and checked the young man; luckily the knife had not reached his vital organ that was his heart. "Start the car!" He yelled at Schuldig. "NOW!" He quickly dialed an ambulance for Yohji and carefully picked up the unconscious redhead.

"We are going to the hospital."


	39. Chapter 38

Chapter 37

**Prologue**

For the first time in his life, he felt drained but yet relieved when everything was finally over. Crawford watched in silence as Ran stood right in front of the tombstone where his parents and sister were laid to rest. He finally got up, said his prayers for his parents and family to rest in peace and walked towards the older man who was waiting for him.

Crawford held the young man and let him rest his head on his broad shoulder under the autumn leaves. It was a serene and quiet place as they stood underneath the tree in silence. Crawford let the young man put his full weight on him as he stared the tombstone.

"I couldn't even protect them," he finally said, his voice sad and regretful. "It was my entire fault, it was me he was after and my family paid the price." He blamed himself. Crawford soothed the young man using his thumb to caress his cheek and he sorted out the unruly red hair that was blown by the cold autumn wind by tucking it behind his ears. "I didn't even get to pay my respects at their funeral and now I am leaving them."

"You're not leaving them," Crawford assured the young man. "They will always be with you…" He hovered his hand and rested it on the young man's heart. "Here."

Ran lifted his head to stare at the older man and Crawford caught his lips in a soft kiss. Ran shivered when another strong cold wind blew on them and Crawford used both his arms to warm him. He owned the young man now, body and soul and nothing else mattered.

"Let's go," he told the young man and Ran nodded slowly and took a last long glance at the cemetery.

They would fly to America the same evening, leaving Japan for good. Schuldig would follow them later. He had told Crawford that maybe he could find the love of his life there, in the Western land. Farfarello had found a woman name Sally who would take care of him which Crawford completely had not foreseen, but he was always singing ' Sally's got a gun…'. Nagi had decided to finish his school in Japan but would join them once he had graduated.

That was why he had brought Ran to 'meet' his parents before they left. He had no intention to let Ran come back to Japan. Everything was in place and every obstacle was gone and some things were better left untold. Like how his sister was still alive and was in a coma.

Crawford had taken every measure and means to make sure that Ran would be with him. Like how he had asked his old acquaintances back when he was in Germany to erase the sister's memories of her brother. If she ever woke up, she wouldn't even remember that she had one. Ran never opened his mouth about what Sylvia had told him about the Takatori incident, even if he wanted to argue that there was nothing the young man could do or say about it. He would tell the young man straight to his face that he belonged to him and that he was not given any choice and when he had told the young man that they would leave for America, Ran had merely stared at him, saying nothing but then he had nodded with his sad face.

Ran believed that it was his fault that Yohji had also been attacked and he believed that his friend did not make it. He thought that Ken and Omi were blaming him for losing one of their best friends since they did not even visit him when he was in the hospital. The truth was… Crawford had told them that Ran did not survive the attack and the Doctor, who happened to be his personal physician that treated Ran, had declared him dead when they came running through the surgery room.

Everything would be his secret and he would carry it to his grave.

END

_Authors Note: _

_Thank you very much to minimorr my beta for this (disclaimer: any mistakes found are totally my part) for dealing with this I-have-no-idea-what-I'm-writing and the readers for the reviews._

_Finally is you see the name Mamoru/Omi, since this is AU I introduce him in his real name and then using Omi later parts._


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